Kurt Grasing
Chef Proprietor Kurt Grasing
Growing up in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Kurt’s love of food began from an early age. While other children may have hosted lemonade stands on the corner of their neighborhood, Kurt saved up to buy raspberry bushes, so he could harvest the berries to sell to neighbors. He began to experiment with culinary techniques by cooking apples from the family apple trees, testing out different cooking methods (four to be exact) to study the results. Kurt has always gravitated to great tasting food, with his love for food and entrepreneurial mind Kurt set out on what would be a career that has spanned almost four decades.
Kurt has had the opportunity to work in some of the finest restaurants in the world. His apprenticeship began at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. After his apprenticeship he refined his craft at Narsai’s in Berkeley, first as a saucier and then as chef. Kurt then had the chance to move to the east coast to work at the Pierre Hotel in New York as the Executive Sous Chef. In the years that followed he was at the three-star La Gavroche in London and Four Seasons in Boston. He returned to the west coast in 1986 to open 231 Ellsworth in San Mateo, which was soon considered one of the top restaurants in California during his time. One highlight of Kurt’s career was to do a cooking show with Julia Child, an icon in American cooking history and early role model for him. She was an inspiration to millions and helped shape Kurt’s lifelong love of food. It was a once in a lifetime experience and one he will always treasure.
In March of 1998 Kurt opened the door to his namesake restaurant: Grasing’s in Carmel. A Carmel classic for over two decades, Grasing’s restaurant has provided Kurt the opportunity to allow his love for food and entrepreneurial mind continue to develop. Grasing’s has expanded over the years to include additional dining space and the popular bar/lounge space. If you’d like your culinary experience out on the water, click here to see when you could go cruising with Kurt! Kurt has also extended his love for food to include jet catering for private planes coming in and out of Monterey and now you may see Kurt around town in the Grasing’s van as he adds additional catering services available to the Monterey Peninsula!