Event Recap: The Chef Event at Downtown Kitchen

May 01, 2019

For the third year, we partnered with Milwaukee Magazine to host The Chef Event on Wednesday, April 10. This year's chef lineup was once again filled with the most stellar talent in the city. Despite the snowy spring weather, over 200 people filled the room for an evening of delicious food and the chance to learn more about the food scene in Milwaukee and meet the chefs behind their favorite restaurants. 

The Chef lineup was impressive, featuring culinary talents from classic Milwaukee restaurants such as Bacchus and newer restaurants such as DanDan and Birch & Butcher. The diverse menu included braised short rib from new Korean restaurant Char'd, a brat meatball from Glass & Griddle, pork ravioli from Cedarburg hotspot Brandywine (owned and operated by Bartolotta alum, Andrew Wilson), among other tasty treats! The dessert was a butterscotch verrine with caramelized apples and a crispy crust topping, presented by Bacchus. 

The evening concluded with a Q&A panel of the chefs, with questions from Editor-in-Chief and the evening's host, Carol Nicksen. All of the chefs answered questions about their culinary inspiration, what they like to cook off-the-clock and other fun, engaging questions. The evening's chefs were Justin Aprahamian from Sanford, Nick Wirth from Bacchus, Paul Zerkel & Lisa Kirkpatrick of Goodkind, Andrew Wilson of Brandywine, Kyle Toner at Glass + Griddle, Kristen Schwab of DanDan. Miles Borghgraef from Birch + Butcher and Yosub Yoon from Char’d. 

It was a wonderful night in the center of the city and a great showcase of all of the culinary talent in the growing city of Milwaukee. We are proud to host all of these talented chefs and hope to continue to be a part of this event in the future! 

From left to right: Paul Bartolotta - Chef/Co-Owner (The Bartolotta Restaurants), Nick Wirth (Bacchus - A Bartolotta Restaurant), Miles Borghgraef (Birch + Butcher), Yosub Yoon (Char'd), Kyle Toner (Glass + Griddle), Paul Zerkel and Lisa Kirkpatrick (Goodkind), Kristen Schwab (DanDan), Andrew Wilson (Brandywine), Joe Bartolotta - Co-Owner (The Bartolotta Restaurants), Justin Aprahamian (Sanford Restaurant).