Chef Jerry Regester is back where he started, and that’s what makes Spotted Duck special.

You can ask Chef Jerry Regester about the qualities of matsutake, how Maldon differs from other salts or the proper sear on a slab of Wagyu. But he would rather speak to a more common soul.

“There is nothing better than a great pot of soup,” he says.

While Regester does not yield on quality or technique at Spotted Duck, his new restaurant on Lighthouse Avenue in Pacific Grove, there is a noticeable lack of swagger. This is not a chef intent on strutting his abilities or pushing culinary boundaries. Instead, the goal is to prepare good food and do tradition justice. In other words, get it right.

“When you go out, there are so many great restaurants,” Regester observes. “Everyone tries to overthink everything. Go back to where your heart is.”

The dishes at Spotted Duck rest delicately on your palate yet are weighty with sentiment. Duck liver pate is plush, opulent, like foie gras blanketing a hunk of hearty bread. A spread of port gelee seeps over this – a layer of dried fruit, hearty and bittersweet – while pops of mustard seed lend a dour bite. Over sourdough scorched by the grill it becomes transformative – a pall on an October eve, with smoke curling from chimneys, the fruits of harvest curing in weathered barns, the earthy note of damp leaves under furrowed skies.

And this is just a pate.

Sauteed rock cod is almost rudimentary, yet equally decadent. Flaky lean fish relishes a creamy brown butter sauce that carries an earthy grumble tipped by a resonant tang of Meyer lemon puree.

“You can eat that all day,” the chef says. “I love it.”

For Regester, this is the good life. He comes to work and does some cooking before taking a paperwork break. Then he returns to the kitchen, joined by line cook Jorge Perez. The pair shoulder all cooking responsibilities.

“I’m a chef who loves to cook,” Regester says. “You go this full circle and come back to where you started – in the kitchen cooking. I’m back to what I love to do.”

The chef has helmed premier restaurants on the Monterey Peninsula. Most recently he served as executive chef at Schooners in the Monterey Plaza Hotel then at Carmel’s Rise + Roam. The former is a formidable operation popular with both upscale hotel guests and locals, the latter part of the Folktale Group, which also includes the winery and Seventh & Dolores steakhouse.

Now, Regester is happy to be back in the kitchen. And owning a restaurant brings another form of freedom. “If I don’t want to do something, I don’t have to,” he explains.

Regester and his girlfriend used their savings to purchase the much-loved Jeninni Kitchen + Wine Bar when Thamin Saleh decided to sell after a decade of building a regular crowd. Filling a popular space presented its own set of issues. For one, Regester inherited a clientele that had come to expect certain menu items and were unwilling to try something new.

As a result, some would-be guests have stepped inside, realized it was no longer Jeninni, and immediately turned to leave.

“We’ve upset a few people, which is too bad,” Regester says. “But Thamin was like, ‘Do your thing.’ I wanted to get back to what I call a bistro-slash-brasserie.” Essentially, the goal is to bring the vibrant, upscale casual vibe of a brasserie into the fold of a homey, neighborhood bistro.

That means classics like steak frites, where the char and seasoning bring an herbal, smoky heft to the meat and the fries are served with aioli, rather than ketchup. But Regester is a fine dining chef, which means attention to ingredients – a side of Cabernet onions, arugula and other greens becomes a lively twirl of peppery, minty brightness with a licorice undertone.

This is a chef in his element. And on this particular occasion, the pot of soup was split pea rich with pork belly and olive oil – a listing he’s free to change at any time.

“For me,” Regester says, “it’s so much fun to do what I’m supposed to do.”

SPOTTED DUCK, 542 Lighthouse Ave., Pacific Grove. Open 5-9pm Thursday-Monday. 920-2662, spottedduckpg.com