Royal Dahlstrom, Chef Royal LLC
By Mike Mitchelson

If Chef Royal Dahlstrom were a politician, the current field of presidential candidates might have their hands full.

Like politicians, restaurateurs, caterers and other foodservice businesses rely on positive word-of-mouth to keep the money flowing in. Achieving that requires, of course, exemplary customer service, and a little something extra—personality. “It’s shaking hands and kissing babies,” Dahlstrom joked, sort of. “Sometimes you have to be a politician, and a lot of chefs don’t want to do that.”

Dahlstrom, a chef who earned acclaim at several Twin Cities restaurants, has for the last two years grown his catering business, Chef Royal. Dahlstrom has that “shaking hands” personality; he speaks easily, confidently—like someone comfortable in front of a crowd. Which he is, given the number of cooking classes he’s instructed through his business and at Kitchen Window in Minneapolis.

Which makes a visit to his company’s kitchen somewhat incongruous. It’s a forlorn base of operations—located just north of a busy road in Brooklyn Park, the building feels as isolated as a mountain vacation lodge in the off-season.

It’s about the same size, too. The building was constructed at the cusp of the housing boom as a retirement community with 200 apartments. Only eight units sold and the development company went belly-up, leaving the building eerily quiet, to say the least. “I feel like I’m in ‘The Shining’ sometimes, waiting for Johnny,” Dahlstrom joked.

The potential threat of ax-wielding, homicidal maniacs aside, Dahlstrom is happy with his situation. The development’s failure left a contracted catering company in control of the kitchen with much less work to do. Enter the opportunist Dahlstrom, who leases the kitchen and part of the walk-in cooler from that catering company.

Dahlstrom started his business about 12 years ago as a side project, but committed full time about two years ago, after a successful career as executive chef in several Twin Cities restaurants. Transitioning full-time to the business meant finding that certified space to cook, he said, which in turn keeps the revenue coming in to buy more equipment to increase capability. “Paella for 96—that’s a big pan,” Dahlstrom quipped. “But you need equipment like that to handle what comes your way.”

Dahlstrom’s business model is ambitious. In addition to catering events, he offers cooking classes, personal chef options and restaurant consulting. He’s trying to cultivate more media opportunities—he’s appeared on KARE 11 and KSTP Channel 5—including Web casting. He also hooked up with a Vision Remodeling, local builder. When Vision completes a high-end kitchen remodel, the client gets a session with Dahlstrom to learn how to use their new appliances. He also helps out on the design side. “A lot of kitchen designers aren’t chefs,” he said.

The work is diverse and interesting, and Dahlstrom is a happy man. Dues were paid, of course, to get to where he is, and the challenges of growing a small business aren’t without stress. But, with his wife successful in her career, the couple thought he could take the chance to step out of the restaurant kitchen.


The road traveled

A career that took him from line cook to sous chef to pastry chef to executive chef began as a teenager at Dick’s Bar in his hometown of Hudson, Wis., and then at Joseph’s Family Restaurant in Stillwater, where he began learning the rewards of “from scratch” cooking. “We had a strawberry rhubarb pie (at Joseph’s),” Dahlstrom recalled. “And these two old ladies came in to eat (a piece), and, when they finished, one of them picked up their plate and started licking it. I thought, ‘How cool is this.’”

Dahlstrom soon decided on cooking as a career. As a junior in high school, while working at Trump’s in downtown Stillwater, he took summer culinary classes during the summer at TVI (now St. Paul College). A stint at the Lake Elmo Inn under the tutelage of chef and owner John Schiltz delivered further education into scratch cooking—right down to butchery. Then it was off to Ristorante Luci in St. Paul to absorb authentic Italian cuisine, followed by Goodfellow’s, where the kitchen, under then-executive chef Tim Anderson.

Goodfellow’s had a different philosophy. Dahlstrom recalled cutting asparagus tips as requested, and asking what was being done with the remainder of the plants. The answer? “Toss them,” Dahlstrom said. “At Lake Elmo Inn, we used everything (from a product), at Goodfellow’s, it was more about being super innovative.”

Promotions lifted Dahlstrom and Jack Riebel (current Dakota executive chef) to sous chefs. Dahlstrom gravitated toward baking and pastry work in the bakery (which became the Franklin Street Bakery), and eventually became the pastry chef at Goodfellows and “sister” restaurant Tejas.

Dahlstrom returned to the hot kitchen as executive chef at California Café at the Mall of America, but found his groove at La Toscana, the much-beloved Minneapolis Italian restaurant open from 1998 to 2003, earning a pile of great reviews in that span. When it closed, Dahlstrom headed up the kitchen at Napa Valley Grill at the MOA for two years before leaving for his catering business. “At one time, I wanted to own a restaurant,” he said. “Maybe sometime in the future. The independent restaurant isn’t a great business for a family. Now I have flexibility to be with my son.”

Business for Chef Royal is good; Dahlstrom continues to expand capabilities and can now aggressively pursue the coveted wedding market. “We were just doing small parties of 35 or under, now we can do hundreds at a time,” he said.

And, having no physical banquet space that needs to be filled works, at this stage in the business, in his favor. “I have a lot more flexibility, and I want to stay a ‘boutique’-type, high-end caterer. I’m not going to be a $10.95 turkey dinner guy—I think it muddies the brand. There’s a place for that, though, and I kick those (type of caterers) business, because they’ll kick that (high-end) stuff to me.”