James Beard event to be held at the Journeyman, will showcase area top chefs

Ten chefs, including eight award-winning and nominated James Beard chefs from Milwaukee and Madison, will participate in the James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour event, which will be held on Wednesday, March 7, at Tre Rivali at the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward neighborhood.

Heather Terhune, executive chef for the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel, located at 310 E. Chicago St.– and its two bar restaurants, Tre Rivali and The Outsider– will host 110 attendees for the sold out event, featuring a cocktail hour at The Outsider rooftop bar and a nine-course dinner, with wine pairings, at Tre Rivali. Terhune has worked for San Fransisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants for the past 20 years and became head chef of its Milwaukee location when it opened in 2016. 

The event will feature current James Beard Award nominees Karen Belle, owner of Bavette la Boucherie in the Third Ward; Justin Carlisle, owner of Ardent and Red Light Ramen on the East Side; Dan Jacobs and Dan Van Rite, owners of Dandan and EsterEv in the Third Ward; Jonny Hunter, owner of Forequarter in Madison; and Tory Miller, owner of L’etoile in Madison, and a 2012 James Beard Award winner. 

Justin Aprahamian, owner of Sanford Restaurant, and a 2014 James Beard Award winner, and Gregory Leon, owner of Amilinda in East Town, will also participate. 

“Its really exciting to have all these awesome chefs and to be able to host them on our property,” said Terhune. “This is the first time that the Celebrity Chef Tour has been hosted in Milwaukee and I’m hopeful that it’s the first of many.”

Each chef will prepare one main course, focusing on either vegetables, meat, cheese, or fish. Terhune, who is the group’s only pastry chef, will offer both a main course and a dessert course, she said. 

Tickets for the event ranged from $165 to $225. Celebrity Chef Tour events are held annually in over 20 cities across the U.S. and are open to the public. Pine Mountain, Ga., Napa, Calif., and Asheville, N.C. are among the cities that will host the tour in the upcoming months.

The James Beard Foundation announced last month five Milwaukee-based chefs who have been chosen as 2018 James Beard Award semifinalists for Best Chef Midwest. In addition to Belle, Carlisle, Jacobs and Van Rite the nominees also include Thomas Hauck, owner of c.1880 in Walker’s Point. Paul and Joe Bartolotta, owners of The Bartolotta Restaurants have also been nominated this year by the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Restaurateur. Award finalists will be announced on March 14.