Al Paris is used to people asking him about his long career as one of Philadelphia’s foundational chefs, running storied Center City restaurants such as Circa, Pomodoro and Rococo, and the late, much-missed Heirloom and Paris Bistro in Chestnut Hill. 

“People ask me, ‘How many restaurants have you had, chef?’ And I say, ‘13.’

“‘And how many now?’ 

‘None.’” Here, Paris mimed the inevitable dismayed face of the questioner. 

“They think everything should last forever,” he said with a hearty laugh. “And guess what? No!”

Paris is fine with that. While many regret he is no longer cooking for Philadelphians every night, he’s now passing his ebullient, positive attitude along to clients as a coach for entrepreneurs and businesses, including restaurants. 

‘Vision strategist’

Paris retired from his eponymous bistro, handing over its reins to business partner Rob Mullen, a few months before the pandemic led to its closure in the spring of 2020. He signed on with One Degree, a Center City-based boutique consulting agency, and worked with founder Ed Doherty to assist clients as a “vision strategist,” helping to clarify businesses’ mission and values. He stayed for about a year, and credits Doherty with inspiring him to go into business for himself.

“Good mentors do that,” Paris said. “I did it with my [restaurant employees]. I developed them to go.”

Today, Paris runs his business coaching firm, Instill Hospitality, from the cozy Wyndmoor home he shares with wife Christine and standard poodle Tessie.  

Paris’ vision of coaching — not just consulting — is a model for Benjamin Burger, executive chef at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Paris has worked with the club for two years, since he signed on to help open its newest restaurant, The Heights.

Burger said, “We’ve been here since 1854, but to launch a new restaurant, we knew we needed to get some guidance on how to go about it.”

Paris “helped us with teambuilding, the culture, the organization — and that’s apart from the food! The food is kind of a bonus of working together.” 

This spring, Paris assisted the club in preparation for its PGA Truist Championship, finding vendors and planning menus for VIP tents and the main clubhouse.

Paris’ approach as a coach was an eye-opener for Burger.

“There are restaurant consultants that say, ‘Front of the house do this, back of the house do that, and my way is the only way,’” the club chef said. A coach like Paris, he added, provides “more of a relationship than a transactional experience.” 

“It’s not like somebody comes in for three days and then leaves. We consider him a family member. If there’s something stressful going on, he’ll pop in and say, ‘What’s going on?’ And we’ll talk through the situation. The lights turn on when he comes in.”

Sharing insights

“I’m a teacher,” Paris said. “Which is pretty nice. Because it’s thrilling for me to pass the baton, to share insights, and to feel like I’m saving people years just by sharing the right thing to do. It’s an incredible feeling.”

“I think he relishes watching people grow,” agreed Tod Auman, owner with wife Chrissy of Dundore & Heister, a “whole-animal craft butcher shop” in Wyomissing, Berks County. Tod Auman hired Paris to help create ready-to-serve dishes and launch a catering division. “Not only did he help bring my vision to life with the food we create, but he loves people,” Tod said. 

The Rodale Institute, the 386-acre organic farm and research center in the Lehigh Valley, hosts seasonal, organic, farm-to-table dinners catered by the Aumans’ shop and overseen by Paris.

“It’s not catering out of a truck, but where people are engaged with us while we’re cooking their food over an open fire,” Tod said. He added that after decades of designing restaurants, menus and customer experiences, Paris understands every aspect of the mission. 

Attention to every detail

A successful host “needs to be paying attention to what we call the moments of truth,” Tod said. “How does the fire smell? What is the color of the vegetables? How are they going to taste? It’s hard to find someone who understands how those moments of truth come together to create the whole experience.”

Paris is in demand as an instructor as well as coach. A friendly relationship with Daniel Goldberg, an associate professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management, blossomed while Goldberg was a regular at Paris Bistro. Soon, Paris was giving lectures at Temple and conducting regular cooking demonstrations for students at Walnut Hill College, West Philadelphia’s restaurant school. 

Paris said he wants to help people find the work they are really meant to do. “You should be able to say, ‘This is what I would do for no money at all. I would be doing this anyway, because this is an extension of my life.’” It seems obvious, he said, but people often need to hear that success will be easier, and happiness closer at hand, if you do work you love. 

On-the-job training

For those who feel that way about food, it’s easy to get started, Paris said.

“The beauty of the restaurant business is, we are responsible for hiring the most unskilled workers in the United States. If you have bright eyes and a firm handshake, restaurants will train you. You don’t need a culinary certificate to start in a restaurant. You may start in a dish station, but they will hire you!

“Formal education is an incredible thing,” he added, “but not all the masters of the craft get an opportunity to be refined in a culinary institution.” 

He blames management for the halfhearted service currently offered by many businesses.

“You can tell the minute you walk in — they’re engaged, or they’re not,” Paris noted. “A lot of that has happened because the owner … has lowered the bar so low, they expect so little of their establishment.

“There’s a responsibility in that authority to lead. You have to have hope, and value people and their aspirations.”

Paris said he’s working on a book that will expand on his views about philosophy, metaphysics, and the culinary. 

“It’s not a cookbook!” he cautioned. “But there will be recipes.”