Ryan Poli of Chicago's Butter shares lessons from California and Spain.

Ryan Poli, chef at Chicago's Butter, creates classic food with an experimental edge. He names Thomas Keller as a mentor, recalling how he found himself picking fava beans with the star chef while interviewing for a spot at Napa's French Laundry. "I'd never even been on a farm before!" Poli says. He also credits training for a year in Spain as key to his interest in "scientific cooking."

Published March 2006