Asked about having moved to Santa Barbara years ago from Hollister, California, Stephen Goularte says, “I came for the milk and I stayed for the cookies.” When you speak with this very entertaining and warmhearted fellow, he continuously produces puns and funny phrases like this one to illustrate his points. Stephen is captain of Whisper, the only all-electric commercial boat in Santa Barbara that can be privately chartered. Whisper holds six people and takes you on a quiet ride from the pier. Steve is also a trained chef who went to SBCC’s culinary school in 1991, and he sets up the food service for various other boats run by Celebration Cruises, including the Azure Seas. Celebration Cruises is owned by his father-in-law, and working there has enabled him to combine his two loves, sailing and cooking.
“It’s not about the destination; it’s the journey,” he tells me about his long, varied, and serpentine career in our city. From 1994 to 1997, Stephen worked at Downey’s, and it was owner/chef John Downey who introduced him to sailing. Eventually he started working for Truth Aquatics, which owns three diving boats. “I would do theme nights,” he says. “I was a combination chef and a cruise director.” That’s how he met Chad Stevens, and in 2000 he became the general manager for Chad’s, the now-defunct but legendary restaurant and bar on lower Chapala Street. Goularte also worked at Rocks and was a managing partner at Couchez for a year. Then Stephen Clark asked him to manage EOS. “The nightclub biz is tough,” Goularte admits. “It’s hard on the body.” He also has been a server at both Tre Lune and El Encanto. I’ve known him throughout most of these incarnations, and Steven has always been full of optimism and armed with a big smile. “There’s a directness about my soul,” he shares. “Always doing the right thing.”
All the while he was sailing. He’d always try to get Wednesday nights off. “I’m not necessarily a racer,” he admits. “I’m more about sailing the boat.”