Gary Donlick lives the Buckhead life at Pano's & Paul's

Nation's Restaurant News, August 15, 2005 by Jack Hayes

Pano's & Paul's executive chef Gary Donlick grew up in Tioga County, N. Y., the son of a high-level IBM executive who traveled the globe and often hosted international associates at home during Donlick's childhood.

In fact, the 39-year-old Donlick was persuaded to explore a kitchen career by his father, who loved gadgetry and saw cooking as relaxation.

During his senior year in high school, Donlick recalls his father showing him a Time magazine cover story about The Culinary Institute of America that predicted the emergence of celebrity chefs in the professional cooking world.

When Donlick decided to give cooking a try, he eventually found a mentor in Michael Crogan at the Guthrie Inn in the Pocono Mountains in nearby Sayre, Pa.

After three years of serious hotel cooking, when he found himself ready for the chef's life, Donlick's family supported his tuition at The CIA.

At Buckhead Life, Donlick immediately found himself in the kitchen of 103 West in Atlanta with Gerard Vuillen, with whom he spent four years learning classical French technique before moving on to other Buckhead Life restaurants, including Chops. Later, when 103 West became a banquet venue, Donlick headed its back-of-the-house. In 2001 he became executive chef at Pano 's & Paul's, also in Atlanta.

Title: executive chef, Pano's & Paul's

Birthdate: May 30, 1966

Hometown: Apalachin, N.Y.

Education: The Culinary Institute of America, 1990

Career highlights: Beginning a three-year apprenticeship at the Guthrie Inn in Sayre, Pa., under executive chef Michael Crogan, after high school; joining the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group in Atlanta in 1990; spending four years with Lyons, France-born Gerard Vuillen at 103 West; being named executive chef at Pano Karatassos' signature restaurant, Pano's & Paul's, in 2001.

You've been at the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group since you graduated from culinary school. That's not the route followed by most young chefs.

It's not like I've been in only one kitchen here. I worked my way up. At Pano's and Paul's, Pano himself comes into the kitchen regularly and rolls up his sleeves. I really like working with him. I guess I've found a home here.

You seem to have a deep vein of loyalty, which is a rare trait in any profession today. Maybe it's what I saw growing up. My father spent his whole working life at IBM.

Say more about how your father stirred your culinary curiosity.

Well, my dad was gone most of the time, but he loved to cook when he was home. He was a real gadget man. I remember him shoveling a path through the snow to get to our outside grill just to cook some steaks one cold December.

What about that Time magazine article?

My father showed it to me and spoke about cooking in a way that suggested it meant something to him, and that it was a career worth looking into. Actually, cooking was something he loved, so maybe it was really a path he wished he had chosen.

Do you have any stories about working with Pano?

When he comes into the kitchen, he'll sometimes make a special salad for a certain customer. But one night when Pano wasn't here, a favorite guest carne in and I had to call him for the ingredients. Pano was the only one who knew.

What did you learn from Gerard Vuillen?

I learned a lot of technique during the four years we worked together. The main thing I got was how to handle product. He was a master at sauces. He always had two sauces for a plate. Granted, there are techniques, like country pate and charcouterie, that I don't use anymore, but at least I learned them. Most kids now coming into fine dining don't know what this is all about.

So it was a memorable experience?

He was a classic Frenchman from Lyons--one of the "Iron Chefs"--and he knew all the big shots. He'd worked at Maxim's de Paris. One night, in 1990, he brought Paul Bocuse into the kitchen. That was funny because the year before, when I was still at The CIA, I'd stood in line for an hour and a half to get Bocuse's signature in a book I'd bought.

How did you get started with Buckhead Life?

I spent two weeks in Atlanta after graduation and interviewed all over town. It's funny that everyone I talked with mentioned Buckhead Life, so that was my last interview. Pano talked with me for an hour and a half and offered me a job as a fish cook at 103 West.

What made you sure about it?

When Pano spoke about professionalism, growth and openness to change as his philosophy of operating restaurants, and I remembered that was my reason for going to school. Pano, I learned, also went to The CIA.

Have you developed a signature dish al Pano's & Paul's?

I do a West Virginia pheasant [andouille-stuffed leg and pan-roasted breast] with Swiss chard and rosemary garlic sauce, garnished with a stew of fresh-cut summer beans.

Did you really begin cooking right after high school?

Yes. I started in small hotels around Binghamton, N.Y., learning banquet, a la carte and dining room service. Then I found my mentor, Michael Crogan, at the Guthrie Inn in Sayre, Pa. He didn't take short cuts. I worked with him three years and rose to sous chef.