Two Great Chefs: Chicago’s Evolution as a Food Mecca

Two Great Chefs: Chicago’s Evolution as a Food Mecca John Hogan and Tony Mantuano Come join us as two of Chicago’s most acclaimed chefs, John Hogan and Tony Mantuano, look back on their 40+ year careers in Europe and Chicago, and reveal how our city has evolved as a world class food destination since the 1980’s, the significant changes in the restaurant industry, the farm-to-table movement, and their vision of restaurants in the future. BIOS Chef John Hogan began his career in the 1979 learning the craft of French cuisine in some of Chicago’s finest restaurants. In 1987 he was contacted by Chef Jean Joho at the four-star Everest. Chef Joho took Hogan under his tutelage and groomed him to run the kitchen. Later Chef Joho recommended Hogan to Georges “Kiki” Cuiance, where he spent the next five years developing his style of French food. Kiki’s Bistro is where he earned many accolades in both local and national press, He then was tapped by David Burke to run the Chicago outpost of Park Avenue. Later he fulfilled his dream of opening his own French restaurant, Savarin. When he opened Savarin, the Chicago Tribune named Hogan as one of the “Top 10 Chefs in Chicago. Following Savarin, Hogan joined Glenn Keefer, who was a well-regarded Chicago steak house legend and opened Keefer’s. After a successful thirteen year run, Hogan took a trip to London with his longtime friend, Tony Mantuano, where they together created the idea of a English style Roast House, River Roast, on the Chicago River. The eatery features whole roasted meats, and a charcuterie program. After being named Chef of the year in 2018 and inducted in to the Chicago Chef Hall of Fame, Hogan decided it was time to move on. He is currently pursuing his vision for the production and distribution of charcuterie, as well as a blues based television show, Chef Tony Mantuano has been credited as being among the first to bring fine Italian dining to Chicago at Spiaggia, one of the country’s most decorated Italian restaurants. He is respected as a mentor to others and has received 12 nominations from The James Beard Foundation, winning Best Chef Midwest in 2005. He was also honored by President Obama for his culinary contributions to diplomacy (and cooked at the White House as well!) Most recently he served as Food and Beverage Partner at Yolan, an Italian restaurant in Nashville that was voted the #1 restaurant in America by Food & Wine readers. He is also the co-author of Wine Bar Food, a celebration of the Mediterranean. Recorded via Zoom on February 19, 2025 CONNECT WITH CULINARY HISTORIANS OF CHICAGO ✔ MEMBERSHIP https://culinaryhistorians.org/membership/ ✔ EMAIL LIST http://culinaryhistorians.org/join-our-email-list/ ✔ S U B S C R I B E https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w ✔ F A C E B O O K https://www.facebook.com/CulinaryHistoriansOfChicago ✔ PODCAST 2008 to Present https://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts/ By Presenter https://culinaryhistorians.org/podcasts-by-presenter/ ✔ YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Y0-9lTi1-JYu22Bt4_-9w ✔ W E B S I T E https://www.CulinaryHistorians.org