EPIC CHEF SPOTLIGHT- Executive Chef Michael Shrader

Epic's executive chef Michael Shrader came to Chicago from his native San Francisco Bay area, where he began his restaurant career. Prior to taking the helm at Epic in December 2010, Shrader opened N9NE in Chicago in April 2000. He was the executive chef/corporate chef for the N9NE Group, not only opening the Chicago location but also opening N9NE in Palm Springs and both N9NE and NOVE in Dallas. He also worked a the Las Vegas location.
Prior to working for the Nine Group, Shrader served as executive chef at Jean Joho's Brasserie Jo in Chicago and before that was executive chef at two Northern California regional American restaurants (Buckeye Roadhouse and Big Horn Grill). Previous to this, Shrader spent a year in Paris at Le Bellecour, a one-star Michelin rated contemporary and regional French restaurant. At Le Bellecour, he absorbed the French culinary emphasis on tradition, a philosophy that contributes to his simple cooking style.
In the early and mid-1990's, Shrader honed his talents in the kitchens of a variety of California restaurants. Most notably, he served as executive sous chef at Jeremiah Tower's renowned Stars in San Francisco. "Stars was truly inspiring. The amount of talent under one roof, the daily changing menu (both lunch and dinner), the product and creativity were phenomenal. You had to be good or you wouldn't make it. Mark Franz, my mentor, was a natural. No cookbooks, just ideas -- but entrenched in tradition. The man can cook. That experience was instrumental in developing my cooking style," says Shrader.
In 1995, Shrader was awarded the sole United States scholarship to the Ritz Escoffier Ecole Gastronomique in Paris, where he trained in French culinary method, technique and history. Prior to Paris, he was selected as one of four California chefs accepted into the Beringer School for American Chefs' graduate program in St. Helena, Calif., with the renowned chef-instructor Madeline Kamann. "That experience," he says, "lit the spark of my passion for wine." Shrader is a 1990 graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
At Epic, Shrader looks forward to starting a new chapter where his culinary point of view will shine. The menu at Epic will be focused on regional American fare, driven by seasonality. Shrader will have four to five menu changes per year based on this seasonality and will incorporate sustainability when possible, keeping the integrity of the food. "I am going to execute this with a Chicago sensibility, meaning I know what Chicago diners are looking for," says Shrader. The first menu changes will take place after the New Year in January 2011. Shrader will focus heavily on the lunch menu and increasing the lunch business at Epic. Shrader, passionate about wine, will determine the wine lists at Epic, keeping wine friendly in mind when creating menus.
Shrader resides in Oak Park with his wife and two daughters, ages three and seven. His wife owns Synergy Women's Fitness, a place for women's boot camp so needless to say, Shrader leads a healthy lifestyle.

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