Chicago Ommegang Hop Chef Competition

Winning Chef: Cosmo Goss, Publican Quality Meats
with "Poached Pork Loin, Orange Crème Fraîche, Tuna, Pistachios, and Herb Salad, Paired with Brewery Ommegang Fleur de Houblon".

Biography:
Cosmo Goss used to work in a grocery store saving his pennies for the day he would open his own fishing charter. But Goss, who hails from Santa Barbara, California, has the restaurant industry in his blood. His parents own Arts and Letters Café in Santa Barbara, where Goss has a salad named after him. Realizing that fishing in the kelp beds off Catalina Island was not his true calling, Goss returned to his roots and enrolled in the cooking program at Johnson and Wales.

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People's Choice Winner: Tim Cottini, Fork
with a "Gingerbread and Squab Sausage Salad, Paired with Brewery Ommegang Rare Vos".

Chef: Alex Ageneau, The Paris Club

Biography:
Originally from the Vendée region of France, Alex Ageneau started his culinary career at the tender age of 15 as an apprentice charcutier. In 2001, Ageneau moved to Chicago to learn from four-star Chef Roland Liccioni at Les Nomades. After this he undertook a three months stage with Chef Pierre Gagnaire at Sketch in London before returning to America and moving to Los Angeles to work at Joachim Splichal's Patina restaurant.

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Chef:Cleetus Friedman, Fountainhead

Biography:
Born into a Jewish family, Cleetus Friedman was born to cook and entertain. Raised by his mother, a baker and regular entertainer for family and friends, it was Karren Friedman who encouraged Cleetus to get a job at the age of 15.

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Chef: Cosmo Goss, Publican Quality Meats

Biography:
Cosmo Goss used to work in a grocery store saving his pennies for the day he would open his own fishing charter. But Goss, who hails from Santa Barbara, California, has the restaurant industry in his blood. His parents own Arts and Letters Café in Santa Barbara, where Goss has a salad named after him. Realizing that fishing in the kelp beds off Catalina Island was not his true calling, Goss returned to his roots and enrolled in the cooking program at Johnson and Wales.

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Chef: Craig Fass, The Bad Apple

Biography:
Craig Fass began his culinary career at age 15 when he took a job making salads to earn extra money and continued to work in kitchens while earning a degree in history. After college, he began work as a computer programming for Merril Lynch in New York, but quickly realized it wasn't his true passion. He quit after a month to pursue cooking full-time and never looked back.

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Chef: Jacob Saben, Graham Elliot Bistro

Biography:
A classically trained violinist, Jacob Saben grew up surrounded by music, attending concerts and befriending the creative community of musicians in his hometown of Olympia, Washington. Graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 2004 he utilized the culinary arts as a conduit for his creative energies, getting his start at The Herbfarm, where he cultivated his passion for cooking and working with foraged edibles.

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Chef: Rick Gresh, David Burke's Primehouse

Biography:
A Cleveland native, Rick Gresh earned his Associate Degree in Culinary Arts at the nationally renowned Culinary Institute of America. While in school he landed an impressive externship at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and after graduation scored a spot on the line at Trio in Evanston. He then moved on to the Celebrity Café at the Hotel Nikko in Chicago before becoming consulting chef de cuisine at Tsunami, a contemporary Japanese restaurant located in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood.

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Chef: Tim Cottini, Fork