At age 23, Splichal was hired as a sous chef by Jacques Maximin to work at the Chantecler restaurant in the Hotel Negresco in Nice.
Maximin became Splichal's mentor and during this period he began to win many culinary awards, including the "Youngest and Most Creative Chef" title from the Cercle Epicurean Society.
[1] Splichal moved to the United States in 1981 to serve as Executive Chef at the Regency Club in Los Angeles.
In the years that followed, he worked at the Seventh Street Bistro and began Max Au Triangle.
Splichal opened Patina in 1989 in Hollywood with his wife Christine, an international business expert.