For centuries, cooking has been a game of weeding out the weak and celebrating the strong. The greats—from Joël Robuchon, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Alain Ducasse, to Dominique Crenn, Thomas Keller, and the likes—are revered…
Category: Featured Chef Interviews
Blog posts
Chicago’s Galit Defied Murphy’s Law for Restaurant Openings. Here’s How.
If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from spending a year shadowing and writing about the process of opening restaurants, it’s this: Most new restaurants will open late and over-budget. As Rose Previte of Michelin-starred…
Grit and Kin
At 27 years old, the name Kwame Onwuachi was whispered about with pity and not without a little pettiness. After a successful (but not winning) stint on Top Chef, he opened Shaw Bijou—one of…
The Chefs Who Brought You Honey Butter Fried Chicken Are Doing Things Their Way.
Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp have made it a point to do things a little differently from the very beginning. The co-owners of Chicago’s iconic Honey Butter Fried Chicken met at Kendall College of…
From Vegan Yoga Instructor to Celebrated Chef & Advocate for Seafood Sustainability
The teeth of the grater are spackled. Fine shavings of cheese settle on top of an ever-growing pile. Smells of marinara waft through the house as a trusty wooden spoon churns the contents of…
Behind Emilie’s Lines
Pulling back the curtain on the mess and the magic of opening a restaurant. Edited by: Leona Burlew I first met Kevin Tien when I interviewed him in November of 2018 about his plans…
Ashley Christensen: The Spirit of American Dining Starts with Community
When Ashley Christensen’s name was announced as the winner of “Outstanding Chef” for the James Beard Awards, the cheers could be heard across three floors and into the lobby of the Lyric Opera House…
Doi Moi’s Chef Johanna Hellrigl Gets Real About Working in Restaurants
Johanna Hellrigl grew up with a mutual love for and resentment of restaurants. Being the daughter of chefs and restaurateurs, she was exposed to all angles of restaurant management as a young child. “The…
Chicago’s Proxi Restaurant is a Crucial Statement About the Inclusivity of American Food
The usually airy dining room is packed with hordes of people, all dressed in their finest suits and gowns. It’s T-minus two hours until the 2018 James Beard Awards and Chicago’s Proxi is one…
Chef Kelly Fields of Willa Jean & Her James Beard Award-Winning Journey
Chef Kelly Fields’ James Beard award-winning career began entirely “on accident”. Kelly was 19 at the time and found herself working in a bakery owned by a friend’s parents as a favor. “That’s when…
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