Chef Pechal Biography

Chef/Owner of Tuli Bistro, Restaurant Thir13en and Tuli Catering.
Biography
Locally born and raised, Chef Adam Pechal has been working in restaurants for over half his life. In a pursuit to gain acceptance to the top rated Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Adam began working the local restaurant scene in places such as River City Brewing Co. and Ristorante Piatti.

After graduating in the top of his class in 1997, Adam continued his culinary odyssey from coast to coast by working for some of the country’s top chefs. Drawn to Southwestern regional cuisine, he worked first in Washington D.C. for the founder of modern Southwestern cuisine, Mark Miller, at Red Sage. Venturing to the Northwest, landing in Seattle, he worked for James Beard Award winning chef, Christine Keff, at her authentic Latin American restaurant Fandango as well as her ever-popular restaurant Flying Fish. Later, Adam settled in the culinary hub of Napa where he found inspiration from Thomas Keller at his French Bistro, Bouchon, and from Italian cuisine icon, Donna Scala, founder of the original Ristorante Piatti, at her restaurant Bistro Don Giovanni. Along with his culinary experiences in Napa, Chef Adam delved into the expansive Napa wine scene introducing his palate to innumerable varietals and vintages which is shown on his eclectic yet sophisticated wine lists.

Returning to Sacramento, Chef Adam has been involved in many local restaurant openings. Teaming up with the Paragary Restaurant Group Adam assisted them with the opening of Esquire Grill as their original grill cook and eventually sous chef. He also assisted Kurt Spataro with the opening of Sammy Chu’s as one of their main wok cooks where Adam was able to build his repertoire of Asian cuisines. Adam also joined the Haine’s brothers on their second endeavor, the ever-popular Riverside Clubhouse. With these plus other restaurant openings under his belt Chef Adam was primed to launch his own concept, Tuli Bistro.

Within the first 2 years of being open, Tuli has received 3 ½ stars from The Sacramento Bee, 4 ½ stars from Sacramento News & Review, 27 for food in Zagat along with many other local awards. In addition to Tuli’s accolades, Chef Pechal himself has taken 1st place in multiple competitions including the 2008 Jr. Chef Competition (with help from his lil’ chefs), a local Rib cook-off, InAlliance’s Celebrity Chef Challenge 2 years in a row and the 2010 Grape Escape Challenge.

In 2011 Pechal brought his next venture RESTAURANT THIR13EN where he takes his local style up a notch in the historic Sterling hotel. With his same passion for farm to fork cuisine Adam has sought out some of the best food producers in the Sacramento Valley to bring food that couldn’t be more local. In keeping with the hand-made stylings that made Tuli great, the THIR13EN team has kicked up their pasta production, added a charcuterie program and began to dabble in bread baking. Within the Sterling Hotel, Pechal and his team have also taken over the 3000 sq. ft ballroom to add to their catering repertoire.

Also, keep your eyes open for Pechal’s “Smoked Out” trailer, a mobile pizza oven with dual smokers to boot. Find him at fairs, festivals, farmers markets, concerts or posted up on a random street corner serving up anything from wood-fired pizza to BBQ, authentic tacos and everything in between.