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Bryan Ondre took over Dayton’s renowned Coco’s Bistro as Executive Chef in January of this year, stepping into the former shoes of chef Darin Mitchell, who left to open a new restaurant in Springfield. Looking back on the transition, Bryan says “there were some obstacles to get through, …but there was a good kitchen crew for me when I got to Coco’s and a lot of support for change.”

School is back in session, and in the world of Marissa Riffle, Bowling Green State University’s Executive Chef, that means lots of hungry students to feed. “Being an Executive Chef at a university draws on many different skill sets. You are not just managing one kitchen, you are overseeing several, and every kitchen is doing something different,” Marissa illustrates. “Collaboration both on and off-campus is unbelievably essential to make everything run smoothly.”

Thanks to a multitude of children’s stories and parents’ cautious warnings, we are taught at an early age that honey comes from beehives, home to bees. But how does the honey from the hive get into your tea cup or onto your brie tostada? The Premier ProduceOne team was fortunate enough to be educated by experts Bonnie and Bill Stein during our recent visit to Stein’s Honey in Collins, Ohio.

Five years ago, the Cleveland Kraut trio was selling homemade sauerkraut at local farmer’s markets. Now you can find them all over Ohio, and as far as California. They’ve come a long way over the past few years, and with plans to span 5,000 locations across 49 states by the end of the year, there is no hint of slowing down. The team, consisting of two brothers, Drew and Mac Anderson, and brother-in-law Luke Visnic, explains their product as “the perfect side to any dish” or the missing piece to “kick a salad or sandwich to the next level!” Their signature technique consists of “an all-natural old-school fermentation process built [with] scientific rigor… to continually maintain consistent, fresh, crunchy and delicious kraut every harvest.” How did these young entrepreneurs propel their company so far, so fast? Drew’s response is simple: “That was the plan all along. We saw that fermented vegetables are on trend and in a fast-growing segment. People want delicious and healthy fresh tasting fermented vegetables and we make the best!”

Columbus foodies know that Skillet is a must-stop destination in the city’s German Village. Chef Kevin Caskey, wife Angela, son Patrick, and daughter in law Cece have created a comfort food paradise featuring Ohio’s finest ingredients. With a continuously rotating menu, driven by local, seasonal products, Skillet brings awareness and admiration to Ohio’s farmers and cheese makers.

42 years of farm-to-table expertise has made The Winds Café, located in Yellow Springs, a culinary staple in Southwestern Ohio. Executive Chef Mary Kay Smith will tell you, “Farm to Table has become such a battle cry and also commercial catch phrase to lure diners.” She explains, “Yes, it’s a business and we all have to make a living, but guests respond to authenticity. We try to use as much local food as possible, but realize the constraints of the Ohio growing season. It’s sometimes problematic for some customers not to have an out of season tomato on their burger or sandwich, but we try to impart the positive part of supporting locally sourced products rather than mega agribusiness.”

Peter Rueter fell in love with making fresh pasta in 2014, while working at a Tuscan-style grille in Charlotte, North Carolina. Experience working as a butcher had taught him to appreciate working with his hands, but Peter soon realized it was fresh pasta that brought him joy. “Being the fresh pasta guy just stuck with me everywhere I went, and I truly enjoyed teaching people about it,” Peter recalls. Having realized his passion, the Cleveland Heights native return to his home state and began racking up culinary experience at Marottas and Doug Katz’s acclaimed Fire. A few years later, he was ready to go out on his own.

With a degree in Chemistry and Environmental Studies from Michigan State University, followed by a career as a chef on the west coast, the path that led Michael Koenig to become Executive Chef at Tucci’s in Dublin, OH was anything but traditional. When asked about his early days in the culinary industry, Michael reminisces “I ended up in San Francisco in the late nineties. What a great city to be a chef in.” Referring to his time working under the acclaimed chefs Gary Danko and Michael Mina, Michael explains that California taught him so much, so quickly, especially the importance of quality ingredients - a core value prominent today in his work at Tucci’s. However, that’s not the only place his inspiration comes from. Growing up in a half-Lebanese, half-German household in the Midwest, Michael also draws his cooking style from Mediterranean cuisine. “It’s a style of cooking that allows the ingredients to really shine,” Michael explains. Last but not least, seasonal ingredients also play an important role in his cooking. “I love incorporating seasonal ingredients into my daily specials,” Michael proclaims. “I try to get seasonal produce as soon as it appears on the market.” He especially enjoys foraging.

With spring on the horizon and warm days with cold nights becoming more frequent, sap tapping season is in full swing. We asked local sugarin’ expert Nate Bissell of Bissell Maple Farm from Jefferson, OH to fill us in on the collection process and how they’ve become one of the finest maple syrup producers of our time.

Chef Anthony Sitek first came to visit Cincinnati in his college years, with his now-wife Haley Nutter-Sitek, a Cincinnati native. Sitek remembers that back then OTR, meaning the Over-The-Rhine neighborhood of downtown Cincinnati, “was still a place you could not venture into.” Over the years, the couple watched the remarkable growth of the area, and decided it was something they wanted to be a part of. Having met at Johnson & Wales University, a culinary school in Providence, Rhode Island, the husband and wife duo bring culinary experience from many different cities in the eastern United States, such as New Jersey, Chicago, and Miami. They now own and run Crown Republic Gastropub together in downtown Cincinnati, with Anthony as the Executive Chef and Haley, the General Manager. “We knew that we could help the food scene thrive, and we were excited to plant our roots and raise our family here,” Sitek reflects. Haley and Anthony have two boys, Aiden (7) and Pierson (3). Crown Republic Gastropub has been open for breakfast, lunch and dinner since June 2018, and has been flourishing ever since.