11. Chef Benjamin Smart- From Rocks to Recipes: An Award Winning Chefs Atypical Culinary Expedition

When he’s developing menu items Chef Benjamin Smart, Culinary Director for one of Iowa’s most popular breweries keeps one thought in mind – people may come for the beer, but let’s get them to stay for the food. That approach appears to be working as the brewery has just broken ground on their fourth location in Iowa. Not a typical path for an award-winning chef, Smart earned a geoscience degree, but kept feeling called back to the kitchen. Encouraged by his wife and driven by his passion, Smart earned a culinary degree and carved an impressive culinary path that eventually brought him back to Iowa. Today he is a partner in one of the state’s most innovative and successful operating groups overseeing and mentoring the next generation of culinary talent.