CHEF DIRK FLANIGAN

FIRST COURSE Chef Dirk Flanigan
A Prestigious Honor for a Chicago Sensation

The day starts early for Chef Dirk Flanigan and his team. It’s not every day one gets invited to cook at the prestigious James Bead House in New York City. Flawless organization and impeccable execution are requirements for this event and Chef Dirk has everything under control, moving seamlessly from one task to the next with a quiet confidence. Saturday night's dinner was already gearing up to be spectacular.

Chef Dirk is executive chef at Chicago’s wildly successful The Gage and Henri restaurants, but his path into the culinary world began in Naples, Florida. “I was 13 years old and wanted to buy a surfboard,” he says. He knew a friend that worked in a restaurant and Chef Dirk began helping out in the kitchen, slowly saving up his money. Not long after, he started working in the kitchen at the Ritz-Carlton and he eventually made his way to Chicago where he’s been cooking since the late ‘80s.

FIRST COURSE Chef Dirk Flanigan
New York Gets a Taste of the Windy City

The day starts early for Chef Dirk Flanigan and his team. It’s not every day one gets invited to cook at the prestigious James Bead House in New York City. Flawless organization and impeccable execution are requirements for this event and Chef Dirk has everything under control, moving seamlessly from one task to the next with a quiet confidence. Saturday night's dinner was already gearing up to be spectacular.

Chef Dirk is executive chef at Chicago’s wildly successful The Gage and Henri restaurants, but his path into the culinary world began in Naples, Florida. “I was 13 years old and wanted to buy a surfboard,” he says. He knew a friend that worked in a restaurant and Chef Dirk began helping out in the kitchen, slowly saving up his money. Not long after, he started working in the kitchen at the Ritz-Carlton and he eventually made his way to Chicago where he’s been cooking since the late ‘80s.