I'm posting this un-edited, hype and all. I can't help noticing, though, that Chef Wajda's portfolio looks a bit on the corporate side ....
Proof on Main at 21c Museum Hotel Louisville Announces New Executive Chef
Award-winning Hospitality Group Recruits Mike Wajda
Louisville, KY, TK, 2015 – 21c Museum Hotels, the award-winning boutique hotel, contemporary art museum and restaurant group, is proud to announce the appointment of Mike Wajda as executive chef of Proof on Main restaurant at 21c Louisville.
Prior to joining Proof on Main, Wajda worked as corporate sous chef for the Michael Mina Group, where he helped manage the group’s portfolio of 23 restaurants and over 1,500 employees. His resume also includes tenures at the acclaimed Craigie on Main in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as Restaurant Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in New York City.
At Proof on Main, Wajda will showcase his unique, modern approach to comfortable and accessible cuisine, while maintaining many of Proof on Main’s classic dishes such as Charred Octopus with Bagna Cauda, lime and Blue Dog bread, and the Proof Bison Burger with Tillamook Cheddar, Applewood smoked bacon and jezebel sauce. After growing up on farms in Ohio, he developed a passion for using local and sustainable ingredients in his cooking and will focus on utilizing the rotating, seasonal produce and local purveyors from Kentucky and the surrounding region including 21c founders Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson’s Woodland Farm.
“I am excited to join the 21c team and to be part of Louisville’s dynamic community of restaurants,” Wajda says. “I look forward to working with local producers and ingredients from the Ohio River Valley. Proof has always let impeccable ingredients and beautiful food speak for itself, and that will not change.”
“The 21c family of restaurants has always been a great incubator for culinary talent,” says Sarah Robbins, Senior Vice President, Operations. “We are looking forward to showcasing Mike’s unique perspective on the menu, and I am looking forward to the next chapter of Proof."
Proof on Main is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with late-night dining available at the bar. Proof on Main is located in the 21c Museum Hotel, at 702 West Main Street, Louisville, KY 40202. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 502.217.6360. For more information on hours of operation, please visit http://www.proofonmain.com.