Jean Joho
Everest – Eiffel Tower – Brasserie JO
Chicago IL
http://www.chefjoho.com
High, higher, highest. Everest is all that — both the mountain, and the restaurant.
High above Chicago´s spectacular skyline, on the 40th floor of One Financial Place, is four-star Everest. It is presided over by chef and proprietor Jean Joho, one of the country´s most celebrated chefs. Joho´s personalized style derives from his classic French training and his interest in Italian and contemporary cuisines. He insists on the freshest and best ingredients — but he delights in serving humble ingredients and raising them to the nth power by his careful preparation. Thus, in the dishes he prepared for the Great Chefs television programs, he used humble ingredients like eggs, rutabaga, sauerkraut, and Brussels sprouts and created elegant dishes to bring out the best in each ingredient.
‚“Being a top chef must be learned — it cannot be improvised,‚” he says. Joho, a native of Alsace, began his formal training peeling potatoes and washing vegetables for chef Paul Haeberlin at the acclaimed L’Auberge de L’Ill in Alsace at the age of thirteen. It was natural ‚Äî he´d been doing the same thing at his aunt´s restaurant in Alsace since he was 6. Following the traditional apprenticeship route, he studied at the Hotel Restaurant School in Strasbourg and worked at fine restaurants in France, Italy, and Switzerland to learn his craft from many outstanding chefs. By the time he was 23 he was sous chef at a Michelin 2-star restaurant.
Joho came to Chicago to open Maxim´s. Everest — the highest peak — is his own venture. AAA and Mobil have both given it their top honors for many years running; Joho is also recognized by Maitres Cuisiniers de France. Joho is also co-founder in Lettuce Entertain You´s successful Corner Bakery operations in Chicago. In addition, he has opened Brasserie Jo in Chicago and Boston. Sticking with the theme, Jean Joho has also opened the Eiffel Tower Restaurant on the 11th floor of the Las Vegas Paris Hotel. He has been showered with honors: ‚“Best American Chef‚” from the James Beard Foundation, ‚“Best Chef of the Year‚” from Bon Appetit, Five Diamonds from AAA, the Mobil Dining Award, and top ratings from the Maitres Cuisiniers de France being among the honors. Jean Joho is a member of the Maitres Cuisiniers de France, and Le Grande Table du Monde Traditions & Qualité.
