Milwaukee native Paul Bartolotta found his culinary compass in Italy before opening Ristorante Bartolotta with brother Joe in 1993. They added Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro (1995), Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse (1999) and Bacchus – A Bartolotta Restaurant (2004) to Milwaukee. In 2006, Paul Bartolotta added a signature restaurant of his own at Wynn Las Vegas. He made multiple appearances at Los Angeles Food & Wine, and we spoke beforehand about a range of topics.

What is the biggest challenge in operating multiple restaurants?

I would say probably the biggest challenge is staff, to be able to allow your staff to take ownership of the business, to feel engaged, to not just feel like employees, but that they matter. You want them to be able to hear the same music as you. When you’re conducting Mozart, they should be hearing Mozart, and if you’re conducting Mozart, it shouldn’t be with a high school band.

As you bring on people, their families and their lives need to be integrated into part of your business model. You need to understand your employees’ lifestyle and life stage so you don’t have them in a job that’s inconsistent with that. You want to have an organization that supports their lifestyle, since it’s such a tough business, so they can grow with you, and so it’s not putting stress on their home life.

The other thing is that you want to make sure they’re part of it, that they’re not an employee of it, but that they’re part of it. By that, I mean they need to feel a sense of ownership, a sense of connection with it, rather than just going to do the job. You’ll get a lot from them if they’re engaged and if they feel integral to the business. That’s also about the concept, for them to understand and be connected to the concept. If it’s a new restaurant, it’s finding good people and cultivating them into the culture. If it’s an existing restaurant, it’s indoctrinating them into the existing culture or concept.

What’s the biggest challenge in operating a restaurant in Las Vegas?

Highly competitive. Amazingly competitive. I love it though. I love competition. Bring it on. It makes everyone better.

How much time do you spend in Milwaukee at this point?

I try to get here a few days a month. I’m on weekly conference calls, e-mails, we do videoconferencing, menu development. It’s me and my brother, we own anything.

What’s the criteria for a dish that goes on your menu in Las Vegas?

Good question. It must be Italianissimo. By that, I mean something that is almost so traditional that it’s not creative, that it’s not inventive, that it’s not original.

When did you know that you’d become a professional chef?

I became the chef de cuisine of a restaurant called San Domenico in Italy, which was a two-star Michelin restaurant when I was 24.

What was your very first night like working in a restaurant kitchen, and where was it?

Very well. I worked in a lot of places when I was 15, 16 and 17 in Milwaukee when I was a young boy, but the biggest game changer was when I moved to Italy and worked at a one-star Michelin in Italy, which set me on the path, Locanda dell’ Angelo. That was the moment. I was in the most foreign place in the world for me. It was amazing. It was fall 1980.

What do you look for when hiring somebody to work in one of your kitchens?

I look for someone who has a sparkle in their eye, somebody who’s happy. I look for nice people, and people that are passionate…I want to be around good happy people, people that are flexible. Lord knows you will not survive in this business if you are not flexible.

What was your last international trip?

This summer I took my wife and daughter to Madrid for four days, then I spent five weeks in Italy. My daughter went to summer camp in Italy for five weeks, and I went fishing with fishermen and my wife, who had never done it with me.

In what ways has that experience impacted your menus?

Italy is green space for me. Italy is a fresh place to look at the world and food differently. I love the country and I see lots of ideas and I become inspired both in food but also in energy and taste and everything.

If you could only cook with one more protein, what would it be and why?

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