Renaissance Restaurateur Chef Paul Mattison is a true localpreneur and locavore

Whether he is creating bacons, catering banquets, or cooking with kids, Paul Mattison always embodies the role of the consummate locally minded restaurateur and chef.

With his burgeoning Mattison’s brand—born in 2001 and now including three area locations and a successful catering company—the chef is partnering with area farms, incorporating regional items into his menus, and generally spreading his visionary spirit throughout the culinary community.

“We always try to be on the creative edge and forefront of what is trending and tracking in culinary innovation,” Mattison says. “We do this not only because we want to serve fresh, great-tasting food, but also because a foundational pillar of our company is to support local, small farms and help them stay viable for future generations.”

To this end, Mattison is an honorary hog farmer through California’s Niman Ranch, has his own Knob Creek single-barrel bourbon, and was recently named Localpreneur of the Year by SRQ Media (as well as No. 1 Sarasota caterer by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Reader’s Choice Poll). He even hosts classes for charity organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs and Girls Inc. and serves on the board of All Faiths Food Bank.

His Sarasota-specific mind-set is especially evident in his menus. Mattison’s serves such items as Gulf grouper, orange juice from Mixon Fruit Farms, and milks and cheeses from Dakin Dairy Farms. His chefs make the following ingredients in house: pasta, pizza dough, bread (focaccia, slider buns, and burger buns), salad dressings such as the coveted champagne vinaigrette, gyros (curing the lamb and marinating it overnight), and bacon from pork farmed at Niman Ranch.

The latter is one of Mattison’s passion projects.

“It was very rewarding to be named an honorary hog farmer by Niman Ranch because it means that leaders in the industry recognize and respect my commitment and passion for serving the best possible products available,” Mattison says. “And I support and believe wholeheartedly in the Niman Ranch scholarship program, which provides educational funds for young people to study and learn agriculture and family farming (so that they can go back and take their farms to the next level to continue the tradition of family farming).”

Bourbon has also become a point of interest for Mattison, ever since Knob Creek approached the chef about creating a bourbon specifically for his restaurants. Knob Creek representatives brought Mattison several soon-to-be-released samples from the distillery, and he and his team picked a favorite.

“We chose the one we liked the best based on flavor, smoothness, character, spice, and warmth. We wanted something smooth but with enough character, spice, flavor, and warmth to it to give it a good personality,” Mattison says. “We plan on making a special menu for all three restaurants that will feature our bourbon. The drinks at each restaurant will be as unique as the restaurants are, with all of them having Mattison’s bourbon on the rocks or neat as the first drink.”

Like his bourbon, Mattison’s menu specials are much loved by his regulars.

“I think specials on a menu should be just that: special. When you see the same specials on a ‘specials menu’ day after day, or even for weeks, they kind of loses their specialness,” Mattison says. “Our culinary creations are based on what is available at the farmers’ market, at the fish houses, and from local and regional farms and fields.”

It is a lauded philosophy and, because of it, the Mattison’s stamp is becoming ubiquitous—from the bourbon world to the hog-farming arena to every corner of the Sarasota food scene.

Mattison’s: 941-921-3400; mattisons.com