About Us
We are entirely dedicated to providing our guests with the very finest quality cuisine, exceptional service and genuine hospitality at our extraordinary landmark locations and award-winning restaurants.
Our award-winning culinary innovation, hospitality and personalized services are the foundation of what make us a leader in the premium segment of the restaurant industry. Our connection to culture and the arts is also a fundamental component of our company.
Patina Restaurant Group was built on the belief that culinary excellence is an art form, and that a superb visit to a cultural venue should be matched with equally inspired cuisine. Museums, cultural centers and art-filled landmark locations provide the ideal environments for experiencing our high level of quality and service—after all, a visit to view a Marc Chagall art display is commemorative in its own right, but an exceptional culinary dish completes the package perfectly.
Patina Restaurant Group’s founders, celebrated restaurateur Nick Valenti and leading chef Joachim Splichal, shared a common vision of a premium, world-class restaurant and food service company. Now showcasing approximately 60 locations in restaurants and performing arts centers across the country, Patina Restaurant Group offers elegant fine dining and personalized service for special events, weddings, catered affairs and corporate gatherings of any size. The amalgamation of these two culinary innovators has presented the world with an unsurpassed level of service and unrivaled culinary talent.
History
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1948Restaurant Associates Established-Restaurant Associates began serving premium food services to museums, performing arts centers, aquariums, corporate dining, educational facilities and off-premise catering events in New York City, Boston, Hartford, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Toronto in 1948. Growing out of a 1950s coffee shop chain, Restaurant Associates is acclaimed for developing the concept of theme restaurants in the 1950s and 60s. The company would soon prove its success by the mid-century, operating restaurants around the world. With its ambitious drive in the hospitality and fine dining sector, Restaurant Associates brought forth a new commitment to upscale corporate dining, subsequently becoming the nation’s premier hospitality company. -
1989The Restaurant That Started an Empire-What began as an exciting store opening for Chef Joachim Splichal has now become an instrumental culinary mark for Los Angeles, helping shape and grow how LA diners eat today. Since relocating to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003, Patina Restaurant showcases an attractive space and is noted for prix fixe menus. More than 25 years later, Patina remains a top-rated, Michelin-starred restaurant with exceptional service, food and ambiance. -
1992World-Class Catering Launched-The commitment to bring Splichal’s impeccable food and quality service to remarkable occasions began in 1992 and has made Patina the premier caterer on the West Coast. With a loyal and longstanding clientele, annual events include the Television Academy’s Emmy® Awards, Creative Awards and Governor’s Ball, the Academy Awards, Los Angeles Philharmonic gala, the City of Hope Spirit of Life Dinner, Heal the Bay Benefit dinner, as well as numerous entertainment and fashion events. Patina Catering holds the esteemed honor to be the exclusive caterer for some of the finest performing arts and cultural centers in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco and New York City.
Executive Profiles
Joachim Splichal
Matt King
Nick Valenti
Celebrated by Bon Appetit and Food Network as “Restaurateur of the Year,” Joachim Splichal has been a leading force behind Los Angeles’ growth into one of the world’s premier dining capitals. Over the last 20+ years, Splichal has taken his creativity and ingenuity with food and married it to his business acumen to create the expansive Patina Restaurant portfolio including the Michelin-starred Patina. Through Splichal’s hands-on mentorship and fostering of culinary talent, all dining experiences within the nationwide group take homage to his personal culinary approach of playfulness blended with French techniques and a strong commitment to seasonal produce showcased in innovative and elegant dishes . Splichal’s mastery of his craft has earned him numerous awards and distinctions throughout his career, including induction into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America, two nominations for “Chef of the Year,” and a “Best California Chef” award. Additionally, Splichal is a co-author of two cookbooks: Patina Cookbook: Spuds, Truffles, and Wild Gnocchi, written with Los Angeles Times staff writer Charles Perry, and Feeding Baby: Simple, Healthy Recipes for Babies and Their Families.
Matthew King, President of Patina Restaurant Group, joined Delaware North in 2008, where he served as President of the Travel Hospitality Division, the award-winning airport hospitality group. King continues to provide leadership to the Travel Hospitality division while focusing on the continued success and growth of Patina Restaurant Group, both domestically and internationally. Matt’s extensive experience in food service and finance prior to joining Delaware North includes leadership roles with Schwan Food Company and investment banking at Dougherty & Company, a Minneapolis-based brokerage. He began his career with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP. Matt earned a juris doctorate degree from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, MN and a bachelor's degree in business from the University of St. Thomas.
As CEO of the Patina Restaurant Group, Nick Valenti heads one of the nation’s leading multi-concept premium restaurant and foodservice-management companies, operating over 60 locations mainly in New York and California. Possessed of a rare combination of culinary insight, restaurant design sense and business management acumen, he is a recognized innovator in the restaurant industry. While expanding the company’s sales and concepts, he also guided it through successive stages of ownership. In 1996 he first led the repurchase of the company from Kyotaru Company of Japan which had bought the company six years earlier. Subsequently, in 1998 he negotiated the company’s acquisition by the Compass Group, the world’s largest foodservice conglomerate. In 1999, under his direction, the California restaurants of restaurateur and renowned chef, Joachim Splichal were acquired, giving the company a major presence on both coasts. Then in 2006 Messrs. Valenti and Splichal purchased Restaurant Associates/Patina from Compass forming Patina Restaurant Group which they now own together with a Japanese investor, Shidax Corporation. Mr. Valenti’s reputation for creating innovative restaurant concepts reflects his devotion to culinary quality and meticulous attention to restaurant design. Among his many accomplishments, he introduced the concept of serving restaurant quality food at sporting events, and cultural venues such as museums and performing arts centers. In speaking of the company’s success, he says “We strive to satisfy the needs of the many diverse markets we serve. And we have been fortunate to enlist and nurture highly talented people who are devoted to our commitment to quality.”