Midwest Chefs

Josh Galliano

RESTAURANT Monarch (Read a review)

LOCATION Maplewood, MO

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he brings the Southern Louisiana flavors of his youth to Missouri using local produce.

CULINARY SCHOOL Le Cordon Bleu London

BACKGROUND An American Place (St. Louis); Restaurant August, Commander’s Palace (New Orleans); Daniel (New York City)

MUST-TRY DISH Sautéed catfish wrapped in sweet potato with roasted mushrooms.

MIXOLOGY PROGRAM Galliano makes his own root beer using sarsaparilla, ginger, anise, licorice root and cane syrup.

Photo © Gregg Goldman.
 

Mike Brown and James Winberg

RESTAURANT Travail Kitchen & Amusements (Read a review)

LOCATION Robbinsdale, MN

WHY THEY’RE AMAZING Because they use molecular gastronomy yet keep the food accessible and affordable.

BACKGROUND Winberg: Victory 44, Porter & Frye (Minneapolis); Bouchon (Yountville, CA); Nimbus (now closed; Bellingham, WA); 28 Degrees (Boston). Brown: Victory 44, Porter & Frye (Minneapolis); Binkley’s (Cave Creek, AZ).

MUST-TRY DISH Fried chicken, which is cooked sous vide first and costs only $8.

BEST KNOWN FOR Serving their own tables.

INSPIRATION FOR THE RESTAURANT NAME The aprons Brown and Winberg wear are a design called Travail, made by textile company Bragard.

HOW THEY SAVE ON DECORATING COSTS A pig skull left over from headcheese is repurposed as window decoration.

Kevin Butler

RESTAURANT Devotay (Read a review)

LOCATION Iowa City, IA

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s bringing new energy to Iowa City’s culinary scene by making homey but ambitious dishes, like house-pickled sardines.

BACKGROUND Brown Bottle, the Vine Tavern (Iowa City, IA)

MUST-TRY DISH Saffron paella with chicken, chorizo and shellfish.*

HOW HE GOT INTO THE FOOD BUSINESS Butler spent his youth working in his uncle’s meat locker and driving a forklift in a food distribution warehouse.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK Devotay recently introduced cocktails—with house-made bitters and vermouth, no less—at the request of diners in an online survey.

TABLEWARE Co-owner Kim McWane Friese makes the restaurant’s rustic plates and bowls.

Clayton Chapman

RESTAURANT The Grey Plume (Read a review)

LOCATION Omaha, NE

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because despite being only 25, he’s cooking with vision, sophistication and spirit.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Illinois Institute of Art (Chicago)

BACKGROUND Spencer’s, V. Mertz (Omaha); Tru (Chicago)

MUST-TRY DISH Rabbit with baby spinach, oyster mushrooms and pickled shallots.

ECO-FRIENDLY The Grey Plume was named the greenest restaurant in the country by the Green Restaurant Association.

HOUSE-MADE Chapman churns his own butter and roasts beans for his coffee on-site.

FAST TRACK While in culinary school in Chicago, Chapman was the youngest person to ever hold the chef de partie position under Rick Tramonto at Tru.

Tim Dahl

RESTAURANT Nostrano (Read a review)

LOCATION Madison, WI

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because, although he trained as a pastry chef, Dahl’s Italian-inflected savory dishes are spot-on.

CULINARY SCHOOL Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts (Mendota Heights, MN)

BACKGROUND Restaurant Magnus (now closed; Madison, WI); Blackbird, Avec, NoMI (Chicago)

MUST-TRY DISH Seafood brodetto in chile oil-spiked tomato broth.

LOCAL PRODUCE Dahl planted a garden at his parents’ nearby business, a kids’ learning center.

ON LEARNING THE VALUE OF SIMPLICITY “I think as most chefs progress, they find that simplicity is where it’s at. I need three things on a plate, and that’s it. I think that when you’re younger and a little bit more inexperienced, you want to keep adding more and more and more because you think that’s going to make it better, when really that’s what’s holding you back.”

Carly Groben

RESTAURANT Proof (Read a review)

LOCATION Des Moines, IA

WHY SHE’S AMAZING Because she’s translating Northern African and Mediterranean flavors for a Midwestern audience.

BACKGROUND Lucca (Des Moines, IA)

MUST-TRY DISH Duck and apricot wild rice risotto.*

WHAT SHE DOESN’T EAT “I never eat processed foods.”

FAVORITE NONWORK ACTIVITIES “Running, yoga and gardening in warmer months.”

Nicholas Johnson

RESTAURANT 43 North (Read a review)

LOCATION Madison, WI

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he has transformed a somber dining destination into a classic modern bistro without sacrificing elegance or creativity.

CULINARY SCHOOL Madison Area Technical College

BACKGROUND Restaurant Magnus (now closed; Madison, WI), internship at Cafeé Boulud (New York City)

MUST-TRY DISH Game hen with oyster mushrooms and mushroom caramel sauce.

FIRST FOOD JOB Butcher at his local grocery store. “We broke down whole animals, chickens and fish. I gained so much respect for people who butcher animals 15 hours a day. When you buy the finished product and all you have to do is cook it, you don’t realize how much work it took to get it to that point.”

FOODIE EPIPHANY He discovered his culinary passion as a teenager. “At Thanksgiving I was always in the kitchen while everyone else was watching football.”

Landon Schoenfeld

RESTAURANT HauteDish (Read a review)

LOCATION Minneapolis, MN

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he revamps Midwestern classics in ambitious and whimsical ways; steak and eggs on the menu appears as steak tartare and poached egg in brioche on the table.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Art Institutes International Minnesota (Minneapolis)

BACKGROUND Sea Change, Trattoria Tosca, Porter & Frye, Barbette, the Bulldog Northeast (Minneapolis)

MUST-TRY DISH Tater Tot HauteDish, Schoenefeld’s riff on Tater Tot Hotdish, a classic Minnesotan casserole. He combines braised short ribs, potato croquettes and porcini béchamel instead of the traditional ground beef, Ore-Ida Tater Tots and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup.

FAVORITE BAND Phish.

NICKNAME "Colonel Mustard"—Schoenefeld once sprayed mustard at a bartender who asked for a salad with dressing on the side.

EVIDENCE THAT HE HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR ABOUT THE INCIDENT He painted the walls at HauteDish mustard yellow.

WHY HAUTEDISH HAS NO DRESS CODE “I don’t like dressing up. I don’t even own a tie, and I don’t like sitting through a 12-course meal in some stuffy dining room.”

Cassy Vires

RESTAURANT Home Wine Kitchen (Read a review)

LOCATION Maplewood, MO

WHY SHE’S AMAZING Because she serves delicious, inspired dishes based on menus from her own dinner parties.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Art Institute of Houston

BACKGROUND Ernesto’s Wine Bar, Viking Cooking School (St. Louis)

MUST-TRY DISH Chicken confit with rosemary waffles and maple-balsamic gravy.

ON BEING A FEMALE CHEF “I always really struggled to make my way into the kitchen. Growing up in a small town, putting a female in the kitchen wasn’t at the top of most chefs’ lists.”

DOUBLE THREAT Vires was nominated for a James Beard Award—for her writing as a monthly columnist for Feast magazine.

WINE LISTAll glasses on Vires’s list are $8; all bottles, $30. She wanted patrons to pick based on preferences, not price.

Sameh Wadi

RESTAURANT Saffron Restaurant & Lounge (Read a review)

LOCATION Minneapolis, MN

WHY HE’S AMAZING Because he’s bringing gutsy, uncompromising Middle Eastern food to the Midwest.

CULINARY SCHOOL The Art Institutes International Minnesota (Minneapolis)

BACKGROUND Solera (Minneapolis), Bayport Cookery (now closed; Bayport, MN)

MUST-TRY DISH Lamb brain with stewed tomatoes and garlic.

ON CULINARY SCHOOL “My learning curve was so much [steeper] than most of these people that I was in school with. Some of them were already sous chefs and executive chefs. But I knew that I had the basics and that I knew good food.”

INSIDER TIP When the Minnesota weather cooperates, Wadi also runs World Street Kitchen, a bright red food truck serving dishes like curry chicken banh mi.