Noted chef at Laguna Beach’s Driftwood Kitchen, Deck killed in Dana Point car crash
A well-known Orange County chef with ties to two neighboring Laguna Beach eateries died Monday in a solo car crash in Dana Point, sheriff's officials reported this week. Rainer Schwarz, 59, partner and executive chef at the oceanfront restaurants Driftwood Kitchen and the Deck off South Coast Highway, was pronounced dead at the scene, near Crown Valley Parkway in Dana Point, at around 4:50 p.m. Investigators believe Schwarz was driving an Audi on Crown Valley Parkway, near Pacific Coast Highway, when his vehicle veered off the roadway, traveled through landscaping and came to rest in a parking lot, Orange County Sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Gerard McCann said Tuesday. It is still unknown exactly what caused the crash or Schwarz’s death, McCann said. Born in Klagenfurt, Austria, Schwarz began his culinary training at age 15 and later worked at the Grand National Hotel in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he met Chef Joachim Splichal before relocating to Los Angeles. He also worked as a chef in Colorado, where he opened several bistros and pubs in the Denver area, and later served as executive chef at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood in 2009. In Orange County, Schwarz worked at the Deck and Driftwood Kitchen in Laguna Beach, and also planned menus for Hendrix Restaurant and Bar in Laguna Niguel, which has since closed. Daily Pilot assistant editor Sara Cardine contributed to this report.
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