A globetrotting chef who spent his early career at the former Hyatt Regency Coolum Resort is back in the region as the general manager of a quintessential Sunshine Coast business.
Paul Schenk, who spent 22 years travelling the world and rubbing shoulders with celebrities as an executive chef and hotel manager, is now overseeing operations at Mooloolaba Fisheries.
The company owns and operates the Point Cartwright Seafood Market, Noosa Junction Seafood Market and Fisheries on the Spit at Mooloolaba. It also has a seafood processing factory on the Mooloolaba wharf, which produces and sells wholesale and premium retail packaged seafood.
Owner Gary Heilmann said Mr Schenk brought a wealth of experience to the role.
“Paul has just come back into Australia in this role after being away in some of the most interesting countries and finest hotels in the world,” he said.
“He brings a unique skill set to the business and a different approach that has already been seen here with the rebranding of Mooloolaba Fisheries.”
Mr Schenk started in the role about September last year but the business held back on announcing his arrival until he settled in the role.
“Now that I’m well established and feeling very confident and comfortable and we’re definitely heading on the right track – and likewise with Gary, the owner of the business – we thought it was probably a good time to let people know who we are and what we’re doing,” he said.
“One of the first things I did was change the operating name from De Brett Seafood.
“De Brett for me is a name that doesn’t really say much, although some companies that have dealt with us over the years obviously know the name.
“I said to Gary, ‘What names do you have sitting on the shelf?’ and he said, ‘Mooloolaba Fisheries’ and I said, ‘Wow, that’s just the most amazing name: it says everything about what we do’.”
Mr Schenk started his chef career at Daydream Island as a 16-year-old. After a stint in Brisbane, he worked at the Hyatt Regency Coolum for three years, buying a house at Mudjimba.
From there, he had spells on the Gold Coast before going overseas to Oman, Dubai and Seoul.
In his six years in Seoul, Mr Schenk was in charge of one of the largest hotel and beverage operations in the world, with 650 chefs in his team.
He also had his own show on Korean TV.
“It was the first TV show ever done by an English speaker on Korean food,” he said.
During his time overseas, Mr Schenk rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the world – from prime ministers and presidents to celebrities such as U2, the Rolling Stones and Black Eyed Peas, songbirds Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga and Rihanna, as well as legendary Formula One racing driver Michael Schumacher. His hotel in Seoul also hosted the G20 Summit in 2010.
“I had Metallica in my hotel in Seoul for 10 days,” he said.
“I worked out at the gym every day with them and hung out with them. They gave me 10 tickets backstage for their concert.”
Mr Schenk also worked in Egypt during the 2011 revolution.
“It was unbelievably tumultuous and scary,” he said.
“I did this the whole time with my wife and two kids, by the way, so it’s a journey as a family. It wasn’t just me.
“We had three years in Egypt, which was just phenomenal. I’d be around the pyramids every Friday riding horses and just experiencing life there.”
But Mr Schenk’s international adventures came to an end with COVID, eventually leading him back to the Sunshine Coast.
“The challenge that I had was my hotel (in Muscat, Oman) pivoted. Within a week, it was a quarantine hotel,” he said.
“At the same time, I could not get back to my own country for love or money.
“Then there was a very small window of opportunity, so I sent my wife and my son back to Australia, thinking that I would be following them shortly.
“I got another window of opportunity about nine months later to come home. I was trying constantly to come home.
“When I was back in, I made a decision I wasn’t going anywhere. I was going to stay back home in Australia.”
Mr Schenk said he had been contacted by former colleague Andre Gorrisen, owner of Fraser Isle Spanner Crab on the Spit, who was working for Mr Heilmann.
“We were chefs together when we were kids at the Hyatt (alongside others such as Tony Kelly and Andrew Strange), and he said, ‘Would you like to take my role?’,” Mr Schenk said.
“I just thought it sounded incredibly interesting and came and had a look and then met Gary and realised that we probably made a very good business partnership together.”
Mr Schenk has also introduced a popular new item to the menu: the Mooloolaba Schnitty.
“I wanted to develop something that was more of a signature item for us,” he said.
“We take a wild-caught local albacore tuna, which is known as the chicken of the sea. It’s known as that not because it’s so prevalent but it’s more about its taste and texture. If I cooked a piece of albacore for you and put a piece of chicken next to it, you would find it hard to tell the difference once I season it.
“What we do is, we cut it thin, similar to the sole of a shoe, and simply crumb it and there you go.
“We sell that with chips for $9.90.
“I’ve travelled a lot of Australia in recent times and it’s the cheapest you’ll get fish and chips.
“It’s taken a little while for people to become used to it, but now everyone’s becoming addicted to it because it’s so good.”
And in another new addition, Mr Schenk has used artificial intelligence to help create a marinade recipe called Marinaba.
“We asked ChatGPT for a marinade for Mooloolaba raw prawn cutlets that would be good for a barbecue,” he said.
“It came back with an ingredients list, method, how to serve it and also side suggestions.
“Don’t worry, no one is losing a job. It does not catch or peel the prawns or make the recipe itself.”
Mr Schenk said it was great to be back on the Coast.
“It’s just so awesome to be back home surrounded by family and friends. It just feels so right and so comfortable,” he said.
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