Milwaukee Magazine’s 2024 Chef Event is on April 17 at Downtown Kitchen – and tickets are selling fast! Enjoy small plates from some of the most innovative and noteworthy chefs in the area. Learn more about the event here. And get tickets here.
Meet the featured local chefs who will be at the event this year:
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Amanda Langler
LAKE PARK BISTRO
In 2023, Amanda Langer was named executive chef at The Bartolotta Restaurant’s Lake Park Bistro. She has been a part of the restaurant group for over 13 years, most recently serving for five years as executive chef at Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse in Brookfield. She has also served in the kitchens of Joey Gerard’s – A Bartolotta Gastropub, The Rumpus Room – A Bartolotta Gastropub, and Harbor House.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Adam Siegel
LUPI & IRIS
After 21 years at the Bartolotta Restaurants, including serving as corporate chef and executive chef and Lake Park Bistro, James Beard Award winner Adam Siegel opened Lupi & Iris in Downtown Milwaukee in 2022. The restaurant was one of the 10 finalists from across the country for Best New U.S. Restaurant in the 2023 James Beard Awards.
Andrew Kroeger and Itaru Nagano
FAIRCHILD
Winners of the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest, Andrew Kroeger and Itaru Nagano are co-owners of Madison’s Fairchild Restaurant. The two chefs met while working at Madison culinary landmark L’Etoile. Nagano has worked for star chefs José Andrés and Tom Colicchio, while Kroeger was under the tutelage of Thomas Keller of The French Laundry fame.
Emmanuel Corona
LA DAMA MEXICAN KITCHEN AND BAR
Originally from Puebla and Mexico City, Emmanuel Corona learned to cook traditional Mexican cuisine from his mother and grandmother. After coming to Wisconsin, he met restaurateur Peggy Magister over 20 years ago at her Cedarburg spot, The Fork Café, and worked with her for 18 years at Crazy Water in Walker’s Point. Since 2020, he’s been the executive chef and now owner of La Dama Mexican Kitchen and Bar in the former Crazy Water space.
Dana Spandet
FLOUR GIRL & FLAME PIZZERIA
Dana Spandet is the founder of Flour Girl & Flame pizzeria. She’s also an advocate for the local sustainable-food community, involved in the Victory Garden Initiative, through which she raises chickens and grows produce. Spandet’s mission is to “foster a sense of inclusion in the farming community by supporting women growers, LGBTQ+ producers and farmers of color.”
Justin Aprahamian
SANFORD
In 2012, Justin Aprahamian took over as chef at Sanford, filling the shoes of retiring Milwaukee restaurant legends Sandy and Angie D’Amato at the beloved fine dining restaurant. In the 14 years since, he’s won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest and has continued to grow and shepherd the East Side dining destination.
Ben Nerenhausen and Staci Lopez
ALLIE BOY’S BAGELRY & LUNCHEONETTE
The married couple behind Allie Boy’s met in California’s Napa Valley, where Ben Nerenhausen was working at the three-Michelin-starred Meadowood and Staci Lopez was attending the Culinary Institute of America. After moving to Wisconsin, where Nerenhausen is from, they opened Allie Boy’s in Walker’s Point, serving inspired bagel creations.
Brian Cripps
TRE RIVALI
Raised in Florida, Brian Cripps started working in restaurants at age 18 and eventually landed at three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, among other prestigious spots. In 2021, he joined The Outsider at the Kimpton Journeyman Hotel as a temporary acting chef, and soon decided to make his stay in Milwaukee permanent. Since 2022, he has been executive chef at the Kimpton’s Tre Rivali.
