Eric Ottensmeyer, executive chef at Paper Mill Grill in Marietta, was born in Munich, Germany, to Air Force civilian parents. Back and forth across the Atlantic, the family lived in either Munich or Dayton until Ottensmeyer graduated from high school and the University of Dayton with a degree in psychology.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Ottensmeyer has fond memories of family Thanksgiving dinners that didn’t vary whether served overseas or back in the States.
“Thanksgiving was just the four of us, my parents, my sister and me. Even when we were in Germany, there was the Armed Forces grocery store and so we had all the classic stuff. We had to have a turkey and jellied cranberry sauce. King’s Hawaiian rolls were always a must and my mom would make my grandmother’s zucchini-cheddar casserole. My favorite part was the late night snack my dad and I would have after everyone went to bed, a sandwich of white bread, Miracle Whip, turkey and jellied cranberries. That might be my favorite Thanksgiving memory.”
With his psychology degree, Ottensmeyer certainly didn’t set out to be a chef. His only experience with food service was during his first summer out of college when he waited on tables at a Memphis, Tenn., O’Charley’s. His goal at the time was on getting a job where he could ski and figure out what he wanted to do next. He ended up with the Armed Forces Recreational Centers working at a ski resort in Garmisch Partenkirchen, a small town on the Germany-Austria border.
“It was like the Vail of Germany and there I met the woman I would marry. She’s from Atlanta and before long we moved to Decatur where reality set in. I was looking at jobs I didn’t really want and one day I saw an ad for Le Cordon Bleu College in Tucker. I went for the tour and orientation and I never looked back. I kept my head down and started cooking.”
He graduated and spent three years at Rathbun’s, then two years at Brick Store Pub and six years at Leon’s Full Service before taking his new job at Paper Mill Grill.
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