Chef and partner Paul Kahan has become the nationally recognizable face of Chicago chefs. Passionately seasonal, unconventionally creative and dedicated to the inspiration of classical cuisine, Kahan has received international acclaim for Blackbird, avec, The Publican, Big Star, Publican Quality Meats, Dove’s Luncheonette, Publican Quality Bread, Publican Tavern O’Hare, Big Star Wrigleyville and Café Cancale. Awarded Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation in 2013 and Best Chef of the Midwest in 2004, Kahan has earned the praise of many who claim him to be one of America’s most influential working chefs. In 2018, his cookbook “Cheers to the Publican, Repast and Present: Recipes and Ramblings from an American Beer Hall,” won the IACP award in the “chefs and restaurants” category. His second cookbook, “Cooking for Good Times”, was released in October 2019 and has received national accolades including a nod as a New York Times Best Seller. A Chicagoan through and through, Kahan is known for developing relationships with Midwestern farmers—leaving a permanent mark on his culinary outlook. 

Chef Michelle Bernstein, a Miami native of Jewish and Latin descent, has dazzled diners and critics alike with her sublime cuisine and a personality as bright and vibrant as the Florida sun.  “My food isn’t heavy handed or unnecessarily complicated,” says Bernstein, a James Beard Award winner (Best Chef South 2008) and author of Cuisine a Latina (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2008).  “You don’t need heavy handed technique and over the top presentations to make a dish work. It’s about amazing ingredients, layered flavors and simplicity.  My style of cooking is inspired by my own food memories and it’s the simple, soulful cooking that I remember from my travels.  I cook the food I love and I think that love translates to the diners.”   

These days, Bernstein is busier than ever. Bernstein and her husband/business partner David Martinez) own/operate MBC Michelle Bernstein Catering Company in addition to their newest endeavor, Café La Trova, a Cuban-inspired bar and café located in Little Havana combining innovative and traditional Cuban-style and technique. 

Bernstein dedicates time to Common Threads, an after-school program for underprivileged kids, and regularly appears on an array of national TV shows, from Top Chef to Good Morning America. Bernstein continues to host the Emmy award-winning PBS weekly television series, Check, Please! South Florida.  Now in its third year, Bernstein also hosts the Emmy award-winning weekly TV series on Channel 10, SoFlo Taste that celebrates the food of South Florida. 

Most recently, Bernstein partnered with American Express to create the menu for the new Centurion Lounge at Miami International Airport. In addition, she is a Lexus Culinary Master and a member of Macy’s Culinary Council.

Bernstein has also worked with Memorial Cancer Institute (MCI), a part of Memorial Healthcare System, to provide oncology patients with a variety of food alternatives to help ease their way through treatment.