The People Behind the Plate - The Fish Place
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| Karl Paetschke at The Fish Place, October 2020 |
“I did it, I made it, but I did it the
hard way.”
“Yes indeed, I’ve had lots of experience -- perhaps too much,” Karl Paetschke joked about a career stretching over 60 years. “I did it, I made it, but I did it the hard way.”
Born in Germany, Karl got started in Berlin. Coming out of his apprenticeship, he landed his first job as a chef at 18 years old. “I’ve always been a chef, right from the beginning. Always running places from the kitchen.”
At 23, Karl moved to Canada and found work in the kitchens of remote camps in British Columbia.
“That was time well spent,” he said. “It really let me see what appealed to the tastes of the ordinary working Canadian. I’m classically trained -- Italian, French, German -- but I don’t really do that kind of cooking now, and haven’t for a long time. Fine dining is out, it’s been out for a while. Most people aren’t interested in it, and it’s very costly.”
Eventually, B.C. had itself proven too costly for Karl and his young family.
“It was 1984 and at the time the economic situation in B.C. was terrible. The work camps were the only real place to make any good money as a chef. I had a wife and two kids. I couldn’t work in town and support a family on what I’d earn there.”
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| The "Can't Decide" Fish & Chips plate -- battered Cod, Halibut on a bed of homemade fries with tartar sauce and coleslaw accompaniments. |
But that old truck never saw Ontario. Better fortunes weren’t quite so far away.
“My wife had a sister in Edmonton and we stayed with her a few days. We’d never been to Alberta at that point and thought it wasn’t too bad.”
“I went to Manpower [an employment agency] on a whim, just to see what was available. They said there was a chef wanted in Fort McMurray.”
Not missing a beat, Karl caught a bus and made out for McMurray: “I come up on the bus, I go to the place, meet the owner and 10 minutes into the interview I’m working.”
And he just kept working.
“Varieties, Cocos, Cedar’s, the Garden Cafe, Sawridge Hotel, plus a few other places I forget. Then I got to my 50s and suddenly thought “Why should I always work for other people when I can just work for myself?”
“I’ve said before, I was always a chef. Always in a leading position. I’ve always known how to run things, so the transition [to ownership] was pretty easy.”
Karl bought The Fish Place in 1996. Its original owner was spread thin with running 3 other restaurants and couldn’t commit the time or money to keep up the doors open.
“It needed some work, so we had a lot to do in the early days. And it really was The FISH Place back then,” Karl said. “The menu was a lot smaller, focused only on seafood. It didn’t have a lot, but we did have a lot of customers.”
With time, tender loving care, and his loyal customer base, Karl managed to grow the restaurant into what it is today -- a quaint, quiet family restaurant with a robust roster of offerings for every major mealtime. Fish is still a focal point of the menu, but now in the company of plenty other great Canadian classics.
“Breakfast is our most important meal of the day, absolutely,”
"Breakfast is our most important meal of the day, absolutely ," Karl said, speaking of the generous plates of Canadian bacon, eggs, steak and other savouries they serve up every day.
Karl credits the restaurant’s enduring success to the staff’s consistent quality of service and the dining public’s diligent support throughout the years.
“We try to do a good job. It’s probably the simplicity of it, too. We keep it simple, honest, familiar. If we make it too fancy people might get scared off!”
In addition to its massive spread of breakfast, lunch and dinner options (for dine-in, take-out and delivery) The Fish Place also offers an impressive online bulk food store! In-city delivery is offered at a $5.00 flat rate regardless of ordered amount.
About the Author:
Hey there, I'm Devon.
I'm a content writer and web coordinator for Explore Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
Originally
from Friendly Manitoba, I've lived here since 2006. I came for the
hills and a bit less humidity, but stayed for the people.
In
writing this series, I'll strive to showcase those great people, their
passion, and the good work they do here. I'm focused squarely on folks
in the food sector for this series, but hope to explore others from all
walks in later projects, too.
If you are a restaurant owner and
would like to be featured in this series, please let me know! If you're
not, but have someone in mind, let me know that, too!
You'll find me at devon@explorewoodbuffalo.ca. I look forward to hearing from you!