Chefs

Phil Vettel Sums Up Michael Altenberg’s Importance To Food Scene

Chef Michael Altenberg.
Chef Michael Altenberg. Photo: courtesy Bistro Campagne

Phil Vettel has a thoughtful piece at the Tribune summing up the legacy of chef Michael Altenberg (Bistro Campagne, Crust) who died suddenly early Saturday morning. He notes that Altemberg’s “resume reads like a history of Chicago fine dining,” with top names of the 1980s and 1990s on it like Avanzare, Gordon, Montparnasse and Le Francais. But he says Altenberg’s real legacy was being one of the first, and relatively unsung, pioneers of the farm to table movement that’s everywhere now. Randy Zweiban of Province says “He was a huge supporter of the local farm community 12, 13 years go, before a lot of people became involved in it,” and Gilbert Langlois (Chalkboard) observes, “He really didn’t get the recognition for making farm-to-table so important… I don’t think he sought that sort of stardom, but he pushed a lot of chefs, especially young chefs, into that mindset.” As Prof. Gary Fine observed here recently about Charlie Trotter, “Every teacher should properly wish for his students to surpass him,” and like Trotter, Altenberg leaves a legacy of chefs who worked for him or simply followed in his footsteps in creating a new Chicago cuisine based on superior ingredients from the farmers in our region. [Tribune]

Phil Vettel Sums Up Michael Altenberg’s Importance To Food Scene