My story begins in 1984 in my hometown of Chicago Illinois, a food-obsessed city with a big culinary personality. As a kid, I wasn’t running home after school to kick around a ball or check out the latest video game, I was running into the kitchen to help my mom put dinner on the table! What I would learn later in life is these countless days spent watching her sprinkle a little bit of this and mixing in a little bit of that into delicious dishes my family and I relished in together is what inevitably started my drive to become a chef.
After a scheduling mistake in high school that landed me in a cooking class rather than a journalism course on the day hospitality giant Johnson & Wales University came to do a presentation, my professional journey began. And yes…I do believe in fate! I call that day the lightning strike. I entertained my competitive side with a slew of cooking competitions and was fortunate enough to be called upon by the Florida Marlins to cater the 2003 World Series. After graduating Johnson & Wales University, I took a position with the Five Diamond Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami. It was at the Mandarin Oriental where I learned first-hand from Executive Chef Patrick Lassaque the good, the bad and the ugly of the restaurant business. Shortly thereafter, I landed in Napa Valley to stage with the great Chef Thomas Keller and Chef Cindy Pawlcyn. I still pinch myself that I was able to glean even a sliver of knowledge from these remarkable chefs. While some people thought a teenager had no business writing a cookbook, I had so many ideas, recipes and food memories I wanted to make a reality since childhood that a book seemed like a natural next step. I mustered together what I could and self-published my first book, Maximum Flavor. Then, as fate would have it, the phone rang and a Montell Williams Show producer claimed to be on the other end (though I was convinced I was being pranked by a friend). They were preparing an episode on inspiring young entrepreneurs and wanted to invite me, as the youngest cookbook author, on the show. I was blown away and humbled beyond belief. Thanks to that appearance, I sold enough books to make my restaurant dreams a reality.
We opened Chef Adrianne’s in 2007 in a Kendall strip mall. As a 22-year-old just starting out, my resources were limited, and this was where I could afford the four walls, I needed to realize my dream. There were the obligatory naysayers that quipped about the location, but as people started to eat my food and taste my passion on a plate, it was their opinion that mattered most. Soon, Chef Adrianne’s was being labeled as a “hidden gem” or a “destination dining must”, which certainly was good enough for me. We guided the restaurant through the recession with just my trusted Sous Chef Eglis Siu (now Corporate Executive Chef) and I in the kitchen and successfully came out the other side.
In 2019, we expanded our popular fine-casual concept, Cracked by Chef Adrianne to its first brick and mortar location. Then, in Summer 2020, Redfish by Chef Adrianne opened with huge success while Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Bar reopened in a new larger location in August of the same year. With our newest Italian concept, Forte, I pay homage to my mother by bearing her name and familial roots.
As most of fans know, I’m an avid globetrotter, and recently launched a travel show in Spring 2021, that’s a combination of food, fun, and adventure, “Searching for Maximum Flavor”! In it, we explore various cities around the US seeking out inspiration. Each city’s segment ends in one of our restaurant kitchens, where I show my followers how to recreate each iconic dish with a vibrant dose of “maximum flavor.”
When I’m not traveling or commanding the line at one of my restaurants, I can be found filming my weekly local NBC segment or at various events supporting my foundation, “Make it Count”, whose mission is to help inspire young people to do their best. I also just completed my second year at the prestigious Harvard Business School and will be earning my MBA upon graduation!
I still don’t know how some of these went from idea to printed word, but I now count five cookbooks under my belt. I have many people to thank, including my hard-working team and my incredibly supportive friends and family. The complete collection now includes Maximum Flavor (2005); Chef Adrianne: Driven by Flavor Fueled by Fire (2008); #MaximumFlavorSocial (2014); Play with Fire (2015);The A List Vol. I (2018); and The A List Vol. II (2018).
