Key West chef and restaurant owner Paul Menta has racked up a pretty impressive resume since moving to the Conch Republic from his native Philadelphia in the 1980s.
He’s worked as a chef at some high-end Southernmost City eateries, he’s owned a diner and now owns Key West Legal Rum, a distillery where he’s been making his own rum onsite since 2013.
The avid waterman’s touch to crafting the popular rum is curing the spirits in oak barrels he takes out to the sea to soak up the saltwater.
“I just enjoy making people happy. Nothing better than having a piña colada with rum in it you just made and seeing their face light up and say this tastes like vacation,” he said.
Oh, he’s also a professional kiteboarder who holds the world record for fastest kite surfing trek from Cuba to Key West. He credits watersports with keeping him on a path to success. In Philly, Menta was at his best when he was able to go to the New Jersey beaches to surf and swim in the summer.
In the fall and winter, though, his family had a little more difficulty making him focus.
“Never got in trouble when I was in the water, only in the winter time, so they introduced me to Key West in the ‘80s and let’s just say maybe I was a weirdo and Philadelphia was very odd,” Menta told the Herald. “When you come to Key West, they don’t consider it weird, they say you’re creative and here I am.”
So, when scouts for Gordon Ramsay’s National Geographic show Uncharted were looking for a Sherpa to show them around Key West — and also compete in a cooking showdown with the celebrity chef on the first episode of the upcoming fourth season — the logical call was to Menta.
“When I first heard it was Gordon Ramsay, I was basically like you’ve got to be kidding me, the guy who yells at everybody,” Menta said. “Like everybody else, I had a perceived notion in my head about what he would be like and mentally prepared myself for that.”
However, the chef said the two hit it off from the moment Menta jumps over Ramsay’s flats boat on his kite board in the Gulf of Mexico shallows — captured in a scene in the episode.
“We met and I couldn’t believe how much we had in common. What a genuine person he is when he’s not having to do some of the shows that require the intensity,” Menta said.
When the two cooked together, Menta said he also came away in awe of his culinary skills.
“I haven’t met a lot of amazing chefs in my life,” Menta, who’s training includes working in kitchens in France, Spain and South America, said. “I’ve met about six, and now I will say I’ve met seven.”
When the producers came to town prior to shooting, restaurant reservations Menta made fell through, so he invited them over to his house instead and whipped up a great meal on the fly.
“I just cooked what I had and made everybody dinner, and I think that sealed the deal,” he said.
Like all episodes of Uncharted, the Key West show ends up with a cooking competition between Ramsay and Menta. Who won? You’ll have to wait until the episode airs on May 27. While Menta is proud and confident of his prowess with food, he also has a great respect for Ramsay’s years of experience and accomplishments.
“With all that kind of knowledge, I was ready to get my ass kicked,” Menta said. “But trust me. I always go down fighting, and it’s not always about winning. It’s about how you compete, and that’s what I did. I competed hard.”
Menta and Ramsay did a lot more than compete while filming. With Menta as his guide, they explored both the natural and cultural aspects of the Florida Keys.
“I can tell you that everything we did, we traveled by boat,” Menta said. “We showed the Keys in the light that it should be seen in. Mangroves, colored water and just amazing scenery — sand, fish, and so much food culture.”
“I sent Gordon around to understand the actual food culture in Key West and the Florida Keys that people don’t think we have,” Menta added. “I can say he was honestly amazed how our islands actually had a real sense of pride and food that comes from many generations. You can tell when somebody’s faking it, and he was just constantly saying how amazed he was and how beautiful the Keys are.”
National Geographic’s season-four episode of Uncharted, titled Unlocking the Florida Keys, premiers Monday, May 27 at 9 p.m.
