The best restaurants, those with food so delicious you push away from the table with a contented gasp and with the soul to lure you back time and time again, are chef-owned. That magical composition of cuisine, service and decor is always best orchestrated by one masterful hand.

So it is with Michael's On the Hill, a jewel nestled in a handsome 1820s farmhouse in Waterbury Center. The masterful hand belongs to Swiss-born Michael Kloeti, who pours his heart into creating the best of European cuisine with superb, locally obtained seasonal ingredients.

Kloeti, still in his early 30s, looks way too young for his mission. Hailing from a family of machine engineers, he always knew he wanted to cook, starting in the kitchen as pot-washer at 12. After an apprenticeship as a sous chef near Zurich, he worked at various award-winning restaurants in New York and Hawaii, and was Chef de Cuisine at the St. Regis. But Kloeti longed for a place of his own, so when he and wife Laura, also a classically trained chef, found the former Villa Tragara Restaurant for sale, they seized the opportunity.

The mood at Michael's on the Hill is relaxed, calm and elegant, without being stodgy. Soft earth tones contrast with gleaming white tablecloths, and the piano music featured on Fridays and Saturdays further softens the mood. The courteous and professional staff know the menu inside and out, and competently assist diners in choosing selections, tailoring ingredients to taste and diet, and making wine recommendations without trying to become your new best friend. Each time Kloeti changes the menu he holds tastings for his staff, carefully pairing wines and food selections to ensure the advice of his waitstaff is based on experience.

The menu is European: his mother's rabbit recipes, the freshest seafood, exquisite beef and pork dishes, pasta in a variety of guises. To take the pain out of selection, there are two four-course tasting menus in addition to the full a la carte offering: the "Gold Menu" at $29 and the "Platinum" at $43.

Voracious, albeit lazy diners, my husband and I let Kloeti and our waiter choose. It was an inspired decision. We eased into dinner with a frosty glass of Perrier Jouet champagne and an "amuse," a small palate arouser of fresh crab salad over a bed of magenta Amaranth micro-greens, followed by the most superb calamari we have ever eaten. When the calamari arrived my husband, a demanding diner and normally colorful in vocabulary, could only say, "This is REALLY something." It was featherlight, not at all chewy, and flash-fried to leave not a hint of oil. Dusted with Parmesan and paired with a glass of Ferrari Fume Blanc, it was a show-stopper. And the show hadn't even begun!

Next came two mushroom dishes we shared, paired with a Clos Pegase chardonnay. Locally foraged chanterelles were nicely served, but I lost my heart to the woodsy, smooth and deliciously rich hand-rolled wild mushroom gnocchi in truffle butter. It melted in my mouth and begged for over-indulgence.

A small plate of firm-textured foie gras drizzled with a plaid of plum compote and duck confit in coconut broth followed. I don't know how Kloeti manages to retain the crispness of duck when immersed in broth, but he does, and it works. Throughout, the presentation of the dishes was lovely: artful, uncluttered, sophisticated.

A mouthful or two of grapefruit granite with a touch of Campari was just exactly the welcome refresher we needed before the main event: for me, a wild salmon poached in herb-infused olive oil at a very low temperature to ensure the perfect degree of under-doneness. The chef drizzled seaweed emulsion around the edge of the fish to remind you, lest you forget, that the fish came fresh from the sea. It was accompanied by minutely sliced cabbage cooked with lardon (bacon). A glass of Shug Pinot Noir was a perfect complement. Slow-roasted pork tenderloin with pancetta, zucchini and sage more than satisfied my husband. Paired with Matanzas Creek Merlot, he gave both high marks.

While at this juncture we were, in truth, well on the far side of overfed, Kloeti emerged from the kitchen to chat over coffee, carrying a selection of Laura's wonderful desserts, which, despite our sated states, we could not resist and nibbled away. Each bite proved divine.

The kitchen is his kingdom. "I won't leave it," he explained earnestly while gesturing with his tiny granny glasses. "I hire people to run the front of the house. Lee Klein is my talented manager. Guerry McComas is my sous chef and right hand in the kitchen. We are a team, and he is as giving and flexible as I am demanding." There are four behind the scenes, two each who handle hot and cold food preparation.

"Everything is made in house," he said. "That way we can explain the menu, and can leave out any desired items or add whatever the guest wants. My waiters are here to explain and serve... It's not brain surgery to ask a waiter to change something. We use everything from the fish or animal, use it again and again. We suffuse broth with the bones, crisp the skin, serve each part in different ways."

To keep himself amused, Michael often changes the menus. While favorites remain to appease his regular customers, additional offerings vary according to season and inspiration. "I love the winter. It is more like the food I know. Braised meats. Comfort food. My mom's rabbit-braised leg and shoulder and seared saddle."

The wine list doesn't overwhelm, yet is complete and well-priced. California wines are heavily represented, with a minor in French and a rounding of select vintages from all over the world. It is the pairing of wine and food that interests Michael, and most wines are available by the glass.

On a cold winter evening, with bones frozen from a day on the slopes, thaw body and soul at Michael's on the Hill. From the snug, enclosed porch you can watch alpenglow reflect over the Green Mountains, or pull up a comfortable chair in the renovated barn where subtle tones from cream through a palette of browns complement the roughhewn beams. You won't regret it.