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If there’s one thing you learn as a line cook, it’s discipline. When Paul Berglund, executive chef of The Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, showed up in a suit for his first line cook interview at the acclaimed Oliveto restaurant in Oakland, CA, discipline was at the top of his resume: he was fresh from the US Navy and looking to launch a culinary career. “I was staring down at two choices,” he said: “Becoming a park ranger or a cook. I sometimes wonder what life would’ve been like in the Badlands, but am incredibly grateful fate steered me to cooking.”We, too, are very glad Paul Berglund didn’t become a ranger, or the world wouldn’t have The Bachelor Farmer, which opened in 2011 and serves some of the best edible expressions of the Upper Midwest. When Berglund began cooking at the converted historic brick-and-timber warehouse, most dishes leaned towards traditional Nordic fare—gravlax, Swedish meatballs— which connected him with his own heritage and the roots of traditional Midwestern cooking. However, it didn’t take long for Berglund to become inspired by ingredients sourced from local farms, including the best pork and butter he’d ever tasted. Berglund uses organic products whenever possible and also cultivates herbs and vegetables on The Bachelor Farmer's rooftop farm, which was the first of its kind in Minneapolis. A devotion to fine ingredients and their growers paid off when Berglund won the award for "Best Chef: Midwest" from the James Beard Foundation in 2016.You’ll understand how Berglund earned his accolades when you taste the fresh, wholesome dishes he’s made for Panna: maple syrup-braised beets with fresh cheese, hazelnuts, cider vinegar, or his shaved cabbage salad with Parmesan vinaigrette, chopped egg, and croutons. Even if you can’t put a finger on modern Midwestern cuisine, these dishes from Berglund’s kitchen will help you define it, deliciously.Paul's Restaurant:The Bachelor Farmer (Minneapolis, MN)

Jenn Louis loves to travel: she’s globetrotted her way through Europe, North America, South America, and even spent a few months on a dairy kibbutz in Israel. The food she cooks is just as adventurous and wide-ranging—which is why hummus and labneh sneak onto the menu with bucatini, cavatelli, and seasonal Pacific Northwest fruits and vegetables at her Portland establishment, Lincoln Restaurant. Of course, that menu changes almost every day, based on what’s fresh and looking good at the market. Diners might move from a starter of grilled octopus to a main dish of delicata squash with tahini and hazelnuts before finishing with popcorn panna cotta: a trip from the Pacific Northwest to Italy by way of Israel, but with a distinctive American accent.Named one of Food & Wine's "Best New Chefs" in 2012, Louis has competed on Bravo's Top Chef Masters and has earned two nominations for the James Beard award (“Best Chef: Northwest”). Louis’s debut cookbook, Pasta by Hand, shows off her mastery of delicious pastas and sauces to match. Recently, she’s decided to explore her love of Middle Eastern food in depth by focusing on Jewish fare like challah, brisket, and latkes, all with her signature style of straightforward sophistication.Louis prizes restraint and control in cooking: “I don’t like too many ingredients or ideas jammed together,” she said to Food & Wine. “You lose the individual ingredients; they can’t be appreciated.” Accordingly, her Panna recipes are faithful, simple renditions of classics, but delicious enough to wow restaurant-goers and dinner party guests alike.Jenn's Restaurant:Lincoln Restaurant (Portland, OR) Jenn's Book:Pasta by Hand (2015)

Hugh Acheson is the chef/owner of 5&10 and The National located in Athens, GA, Empire State South and Spiller Park Coffee in Atlanta, GA, and The Florence in Savannah, GA. Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada he started cooking at a young age and decided to make it his career after taking a very long time to realize that academics weren’t his thing. At age 15, he began working in restaurants after school and learning as much as possible. Today, Acheson's experience includes working under Chef Rob MacDonald where he learned stylized French cuisine, wine and etiquette at the renowned Henri Burger restaurant in Ottawa, and in San Francisco as the chef de cuisine with Chef Mike Fennelly at Mecca, and later as opening sous chef with famed Chef Gary Danko at his namesake restaurant, where he found a love of the simple, pure, and disciplined.Taking these experiences, Hugh developed a style of his own forging together the beauty of the South with the flavors of Europe and opening the critically acclaimed Athens, GA restaurant 5&10 in March of 2000. In 2007, Acheson opened The National with fellow chef Peter Dale. Adding to his list of dining establishments, Hugh opened Atlanta based restaurant, Empire State South in the summer of 2010. Hugh’s most recent endeavor is The Florence, which opened in June of 2014.Hugh's cookbook titled A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen, published by Clarkson Potter, hit the bookshelves in October 2011 and won the award for Best Cookbook in the field of “American Cooking” by the James Beard Foundation in 2012. In A New Turn in the South, you’ll find libations, seasonal vegetables that take a prominent role, salads and soups, Hugh's prized sides, and fish and meats, turning Southern food on its head every step of the way. Hugh’s pickling swatch book, Pick a Pickle, also by Clarkson Potter, was published in the spring of 2014 and is a handy kitchen go-to for canning and preserving. In May of 2015, Hugh’s newest cookbook, The Broad Fork: Recipes for the Wide World of Vegetables and Fruit, was released. The book brings fresh produce to the center of the plate and offers knowledge and the inspiration to consider new directions for how we eat and support our communities through the wonderful world of agriculture.This fresh approach to Southern food has earned Hugh a great deal of recognition, including Food & Wine’s Best New Chef (2002), the Atlanta Journal Constitution Restaurant of the Year (2007), five James Beard nominations, and 2012 Best Chef Southeast.In 2010 Hugh competed on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters: Season 3. He returned to the hit show as a judge on Top Chef: Seasons 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 as well as Top Chef: Duels. He also hosted Bravo’s online complement to Top Chef Masters Season 5, called Battle of the Sous Chefs. But all of that is to everyone outside of Athens. To Athens, he is the guy who owns those restaurants, has one eyebrow, a wife far better looking than he is and two daughters who are the apple of his eye. Hugh's Restaurants:Empire State South (Atlanta, GA)The Florence (Savannah, GA) The National (Athens, GA) Spiller Park Coffee (Atlanta, GA) 5&10 (Athens, GA)Hugh's Books:A New Turn in the South (2011) Pick a Pickle (2014) The Broad Fork (2015)