In early 1982, a young chef named Deb Paquette left her Fort Lauderdale home for a hotel job in Knoxville, then host city for the World’s Fair.
In what felt like a turn of bad luck, her friend’s car — her ride — broke down inside the city limits and the hotel initiated a hiring freeze upon her arrival. No work, no wheels; what to do? She heard that Nashville’s Hyatt Regency needed a banquet chef and a ticket on the Greyhound could get her there. She landed that job and thus began her luminous career spanning more than four decades in Music City. Losing out in Knoxville, she says, was a blessing in disguise. Nashvillians in the know agree.
Paquette is a culinary force who has infused vision and vitality into Nashville’s dining scene, starting from the days when that scene was spare. She was head chef of Cakewalk Cafe in the late ‘80s, and lead chef with Michael Cribbs at Bound’ry in the early ‘90s. In 1997, together with her husband Ernie, she opened her first solo restaurant, multi-award-winning ZOLA, which enjoyed a 13-year run. Over the years, she consulted on numerous projects (i.e., Tin Angel, The Local Taco, Urban Grub). But it was her partnership with restaurateurs Doug Hogrefe and Paul Schramkowski (4 Top Hospitality) that gave her the platform — etch — for the fullest creative expression. In 2012, the modern SoBro restaurant opened to raves. Building on that success, she designed the menu for sister restaurant, etc. in Green Hills, launched in 2016.
Success, they say, breeds success. Now, etch has arrived in its second location, The Factory at Franklin. Its opening provided a good time to sit down with the celebrated chef and talk about her journey.
Nashville Lifestyles: Did you always want to be a chef?
Deb Paquette: I come from a family of very good cooks, but I hadn’t considered it as a career. Back then, (mid ‘70s) I didn’t know it was something I could do. One day, I was in the car with a girlfriend, and a bunch of loose papers were flying around. One was from the Culinary Institute of America, including a list of positions that you could get after training with them. And I thought, ‘This sounds cool!’ I applied; got accepted. In the 9-month lead-up to going, I started restaurant work. I got a job as a dishwasher at a local restaurant and quickly worked my way up to line cook. I graduated from CIA in 1978, then I got my degree in hospitality at Florida State. I was off and running! I laugh, what if I hadn’t come across those papers that day? Would I still be teaching classes at the exercise studio?
NL: Who were your mentors?
DP: You know, back then, there were no mentors — not in the traditional sense — for me. But I am grateful to my grandfather, who was a fabulous cook and a batik artist. He worked in big bold vivid colors and I was so attracted to that. My world has revolved around color. I am not a minimalist, and I express my creativity through food. The plate is my canvas. When Doug (Hogrefe) asked me to come on board for etch, I knew the design of the place was minimalist. I told him, yes, only if I could have cherry red heat lamps!
NL: And, that design has carried over into etch at The Factory.
DP: Yes, Janna (Schrimsher) of Matheny Goldmon is the decorator. The layout of the bar, open kitchen, dining room, and private rooms is very much like the original. She’s introduced some beautiful tiles and patterns that make this etch its own.
NL: Your work is distinctive, like no one else’s; full of dimension, sculptural, and painterly.
DP: My spots, dots, and wiggles! In teaching my staff about design, I ask them to develop color and flavor on the plate. Every element needs to be in relation to others and needs to be in balance. Does a sauce taste good on its own and in combination with the other elements on the plate?
NL: Let’s talk about your sources of inspiration.
DP: I take a global approach. It’s more fun. It pushes me out of the box. One of my goals is to make something that you wouldn’t make at home. Right now, I am stoked by what Latin chefs are doing. The science of food also plays a key role. To me, Harold McGee’s book (On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen) is the Bible. For a time, molecular gastronomy was the thing — but ultimately it taught us about ingredients and techniques we still use today. I rely on cookbooks, the Google machine, and going out of town to eat.
NL: Your menu wisely offers some of etch’s mainstays, such as the roasted cauliflower, the octopus-shrimp bruschetta, and the signature etch salad. What are some of the new dishes you are excited to introduce?
DP: The scallops are divine. They are seared and plated with a Thai lemongrass curry sauce, crispy rice cake, chili-glazed carrots, and pineapple relish. The Frenched Chicken Breast is inspired by a chicken tamale — but deconstructed — served with ancho glazed sweet potato, tomato Del Mar sauce, pasilla purée, and tamale dumplings. My staff calls the Pork Ribeye “Thanksgiving on a plate”— it has fall and winter comforts, including butternut squash purée, couscous-stuffed delicata squash, citrus supremes, apple marmalade, and beet frisée salad.
NL: Even after 40+ years in the business, you are still a hands-on chef. What sustains you?
DP: My clientele. I’ve been feeding many of the same people for over 35 years. Those relationships mean everything. We cater to our customers. And, as their dietary concerns have evolved over time, we keep learning how to best accommodate them. My team. Our amazing pastry chef, Megan Williams, has been with me for over 12 years. I am ever grateful to Jess Lambert, who I hired in 2014. She is so talented, a strong leader, and will be overseeing the kitchens at both etch North and etch South. I’m excited for her to be in this role. It’s her turn. We have a great working relationship, and we have, in some ways, switched roles. Jess is writing the menus. I read and review them. We share ideas, we do tastings, and we tweak. I’m looking forward to being in the dining room more, welcoming our guests, old and new, and sharing stories.