The following was published in the May 12 issue of BizTimes Milwaukee as our annual lifestyle special section, The Executive. The section has historically given readers a look at the most luxurious homes, cars, boats and experiences in southeastern Wisconsin. This year, we’re spotlighting high-end dining and the chefs who have set a standard of culinary excellence in Milwaukee. While the city has become home to numerous talented chefs in recent years, this feature highlights those who have won a prestigious James Beard Award, or within the past five years have been a finalist or semifinalist.
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Adam Siegel[/caption]
Winner: Best Chef Midwest – 2008 (Bartolotta’s Lake Park Bistro)
Siegel’s debut restaurant, Lupi & Iris, opened in 2022 in downtown Milwaukee, offering fine dining inspired by the French and Italian Rivieras. He previously spent 21 years with The Bartolotta Restaurants, initially as executive chef at Lake Park Bistro before heading up culinary operations for the entire organization.
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Semifinalist: Outstanding Chef – 2022
Semifinalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2024, 2025
Following stints at top restaurants in New York City, Knall joined the culinary team at Birch (formerly Birch + Butcher) in 2021. One year later, he and his wife, Megan Knall, purchased the East Side restaurant, known for its open, wood-fired hearth. The Knalls will open their second concept, a French bistro called Cassis, this fall in the Third Ward.
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Winner: Best Chef Midwest – 2022
Baldwin worked his way through the local culinary scene before opening The Diplomat in 2017 on East Brady Street. The restaurant is known for its take on modern-American cuisine, served in a shareable plate format, with a seasonally rotating menu.
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Dan Jacobs (left) and Dan Van Rite. Photo credit: Kevin Miyazaki[/caption]
Finalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2024
Semifinalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025
Jacobs and Van Rite had each proved their culinary chops before crossing paths and teaming up in 2016 to open modern Chinese-American restaurant DanDan (Third Ward), followed by chef’s table concept EsterEv (Bay View), with a gourmet tasting menu that has earned the duo six James Beard nominations. Last year, Jacobs made it to the final round of Bravo’s hit cooking competition show, “Top Chef,” which was filmed in Wisconsin.
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Karen Bell[/caption]
Karen Bell | Bavette La Boucherie
Finalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2018, 2022
Semifinalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2017, 2019
When Bell opened Bavette La Boucherie in 2013 in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, she planned to run a whole animal butcher shop with a small cafe. The concept ultimately evolved into a full-service restaurant with a seasonal farm-to-table menu.
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A spread of menu items at Bavette. Photo credit: Kevin Miyazaki[/caption]
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Gregory León[/caption]
Finalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2022, 2023
Semifinalist: Outstanding Chef – 2024, 2025
Uprooting from San Francisco, where he spent 18 years working in top-rated restaurants in between stints in Madrid, Spain, León moved to Milwaukee and opened Spanish- and Portuguese-inspired Amilinda in 2015.
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Justin Aprahamian[/caption]
Winner: Best Chef Midwest – 2014
Sanford Restaurant has been a pillar of Milwaukee’s modern fine dining scene since it opened in 1989 to national acclaim. Having trained for a decade under founder Sandy D’Amato – who himself was named Best Chef Midwest in 1996 – Aprahamian took ownership of the restaurant in 2012 and continues to carry on the tradition today alongside his wife, Sarah Aprahamian.
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Paul Bartolotta[/caption]
Winner: Best Chef Midwest – 1994 (Spiaggia, Chicago)
Winner: Best Chef Southwest – 2009 (Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare at Wynn Las Vegas)
The Bartolotta’s brand has become synonymous with upscale dining in the Milwaukee area over the past three decades, with many of the city’s acclaimed chefs coming out of its kitchens. Nationally renowned chef Paul Bartolotta co-founded the company with his late brother, Joe, in 1993 and continues to lead the group of now 18 restaurants and catering facilities today. Together, the brothers were semifinalists for the national honor of Outstanding Chef in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
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Ross Bacchuber (left) and Sam Ek. Photo credit: Odd Duck[/caption]
Semifinalist: Best Chef Midwest – 2024, 2025
Local restaurant industry veterans Bachhuber and Melissa Buchholz opened Odd Duck in 2012, featuring a globally inspired menu of small plates and sharables. Ek joined in 2014 and has led the culinary team as executive chef for the past six years. The restaurant in 2022 relocated from its original Bay View location to a larger space in Walker’s Point.
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