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Hot Young Chefs in the Twin Cities
From Minnesota Monthly
You’ve heard it said, again and again: chefs are the new rock stars.And they’re rocking it right here. The Twin Cities has one of the country’s most vibrant restaurant scenes, full of great food, fresh young talent, and a future so bright we ought to wear shades.
Jamie Malone, 29, Chef de Cuisine, Sea Change, 806 S. Second St., Mpls., 612-225-6499
Born: St. Paul Raised: North St. Paul
Education: Le Cordon Bleu, Minneapolis–St. Paul
Famous for: Deftly helming one of the country’s premier sustainable seafood restaurants.
On being a female chef in a notoriously male profession: “It’s been a non-issue. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about [New York City restaurant magnate] Danny Meyer’s [dictum of] constant, gentle pressure. It keeps me calm and sends a clear message of expectations.”
Sameh Wadi, 28, Chef and owner, Saffron, 123 N. Third St., Mpls., 612-746-5533
Born:Kuwait Raised: Kingdom of Jordan; Blaine
Education: Art Institutes International Minnesota
Famous for: His innovative approach to Middle Eastern cooking.
Lucky break: “My job at Solera. I got to work with chef Tim McKee…and I started to develop as a chef.”
Mike DeCamp, 33, Chef de cuisine, La Belle Vie, 510 Groveland Ave., Mpls., 612-874-6440
Born:Minneapolis Raised: Wayzata
Education:Started working for Tim McKee at D’Amico Cucina at 17, and has been cooking professionally ever since.
Famous for:Running the show at La Belle Vie, the region’s top fine-dining restaurant.
On VIPs: DeCamp has cooked for Rod Stewart, Nancy Pelosi, and Vice President Joe Biden.
Mike Brown, 26, Chef and co-owner, Travail, 4154 W. Broadway Ave., Robbinsdale, 763-535-1131
Born: San Diego Raised: Savage
Education: Winona State and Le Cordon Bleu, Minneapolis–St. Paul
Career highlight: Travail was named by Bon Appetit magazine as the fourth-best new restaurant in the United States in 2011.
Career lowlight: Working the grill at Stampede Steakhouse in Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America.
James Winberg, 33, Chef and co-owner, Travail, 4154 W. Broadway Ave., Robbinsdale, 763-535-1131
Born and raised:Grand Rapids
Education:Bellingham Technical College’s Culinary Arts Program
Lucky break:“I faxed my resumé to Bouchon. Every day. About 10 resumés later, they called me.”
On Bouchon: “It was understood that nothing you did could ever approach being good enough. The standards were past human understanding.”
Bob Gerken, 30, Chef and co-owner, Travail, 4154 W. Broadway Ave., Robbinsdale, 763-535-1131
Born and raised: Springfield, Missouri
Education: Le Cordon Bleu, Scottsdale, Arizona
On working with so many chefs: “The biggest positive is that you have three different opinions,” Gerken says. “If you get stuck, you look over your shoulder and ask, ‘What should I do with this rabbit?’”
Landon Schoenefeld, 30, Chef and owner, Haute Dish , 119 Washington Ave. N., Mpls., 612-338-8484
Born and raised: Aberdeen, South Dakota
Education: Art Institutes International Minnesota
Famous for: Soul-stirring flavors that derive inspiration from 1970s and 80s Midwest-Americana.
Lucky break: Squirting mustard at a bartender at the Bulldog and getting fired, which turned into national news. “From that day on, everyone knew who I was.”
Erick Harcey, 30, Chef and Owner, Victory 44, 2203 44th Ave. N., Mpls., 612-588-2228
Born and raised: Cambridge
Education: Le Cordon Bleu, Minneapolis–St. Paul
Famous for: Founding the local idea of an avant-garde restaurant with no servers.
Lucky break: “I (was hired) at Nicollet Island Inn as a pastry chef,” Harcey says. “All of a sudden everyone quit, and I was the chef.”
Adam Vickerman, 26, Chef, Café Levain, 4762 Chicago Ave. S., Mpls., 612-823-7111
Born:Illinois Raised: Lakeville
Education:Le Cordon Bleu, Minneapolis-St. Paul
Famous for:Intricately built but seemingly simple dishes.
Currently cooking:“I’ve become a bigger fan of vegetables (lately), and realized that grains are wildly underappreciated.”
Ann Kim, 38, Chef and owner, Pizzeria Lola, 5557 Xerxes Ave. S., Mpls., 612-424-8338
Born: Busan, South Korea Raised: Apple Valley
Education: Columbia University, Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza
Famous for: Leaving a career as a professional actor to go to pizza school and open a restaurant—a restaurant that became the talk of the Twin Cities for its flavorful crust and surprising toppings, like Guanciale and homemade kimchi.
Marshall Paulsen, 32,head chef, Birchwood Café, Birchwood Café, 3311 E. 25th St., Mpls., 612-722-4474
Born and raised: St. Paul
Education: University of Wisconsin–Stout
Famous for: Clean, good food at one of Minneapolis’s busiest sustainable restaurants.
Lucky break: “I was working at the Creamery when the chef left. So my friend and I went to the owner and said, ‘This is what we can do, this is how much we want to get paid.’”
Ben Pichler, 31, Chef de Cuisine, Grand Café, 3804 Grand Ave. S., Mpls., 612-822-8260
Born and raised: Marshfield, Wisconsin
Education: Le Cordon Bleu, Minneapolis–St. Paul
Famous for: A cuisine that seems French due to locavore sourcing and classical techniques.
Restaurant secret: “We’re a chicken-stock-heavy kitchen,” Pichler says. “We use all our chicken carcasses, as well as turkey feet from Wild Acres.”
Stephanie Kochlin, 30, Head chef, Pig & Fiddle, 3812 W. 50th St., Mpls., 952-955-8385
Born: St. Paul Raised: White Bear Lake
Education: Le Cordon Bleu, Minneapolis–St. Paul
Famous for: Being Lenny Russo of Heartland’s right-hand chef for seven years.
Food hero: Isaac Becker [of Bar La Grassa]. “He’ll work on a dish for weeks, and if it’s not perfect it won’t run.”
Derik Moran, 25, Co-chef de Cuisine, The Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls., 612-332-1010
Born: Colorado Springs, Colorado Raised: Birchwood, Wisconsin
Education: On the job.
Famous for: Sensual locavore gastronomy at Nick and Eddie, where he was head chef until fall 2011.
In his fridge: A three-year-old sourdough starter.
Kristin Tyborski, 31, Co-chef de Cuisine, The Dakota, 1010 Nicollet Ave. S., Mpls., 612-332-1010
Born: Tacoma, Washington Raised: Fargo, North Dakota
Education: Colorado Mountain College Culinary Institute
Famous for: Delicate, sculptural dishes.
Surprising job: Working as a cocktail server at Solera before she was named sous chef.
Paul Berglund, 35, Chef at Bachelor Farmer, 50 Second Ave. N., Mpls., 612-206-3920
Born: Hinsdale, Illinois Raised: St. Louis, Missouri
Education: University of Michigan; four years in the Navy; the Oakland, California, restaurant Oliveto.
Famous for: Nordic-inspired fare at The Bachelor Farmer.
Secret ingredient: Apple cider.
Jason Schellin, 33, Chef de Cuisine, Muffuletta, 2260 Como Ave., St. Paul, 651-644-9116
Born and raised: Brainerd
Education: Art Institutes International Minnesota
Famous for: Making Muffuletta a beacon of fresh, creative appeal.
Cooking school as a mid-career move: “I started as a dishwasher at Madden’s when I was 15 and climbed the ranks,” Schellin says. “Culinary school was really more of a networking thing for me.”
Lisa Hanson, 36, Chef and owner, Mona restaurant & bar (forthcoming)
Born: Eau Claire, Wisconsin Raised: Winona
Education: Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York
Famous for: Her star resumé—L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, chef de cuisine at Corner Table—has everyone buzzing about her forthcoming restaurant.
On a second career as a chef: “I had a business degree, but I wanted a change. I visited the CIA campus and saw everyone walking around with bags of knives on their backs, and knew that was it.”