Grant Achatz
Impeccable taste and a true believer’s fervor for food-as-art brought this award-winning chef back from the brink. Constant reinvention keeps his career on the cutting edge as he takes it to The Next Level.
"You can make something great once. To do it twice, that's a legacy."
Chicago chef Grant Achatz embodies reinvention, both in his food and life. This pioneer in molecular gastronomy serves up wildly inventive dishes, such as olive oil lollipops and apple taffy helium balloons, at his restaurant Alinea, and he recently opened Next, a new concept restaurant that regularly reinvents its menu and style.
In 2007, a battle with tongue cancer left Achatz temporarily unable to taste, an experience that redefined food for the young chef. Faced with a bleak future as a chef who could not taste his work, Achatz turned adversity into opportunity. He relied on his sense of smell, his sous-chefs, and an unwavering belief in his vision to forge ahead.