Brandon Chrostowski

Coming Up

At the start of the trade record, the shaping forces are classical training and high-precision kitchens: the Culinary Institute of America, then the pace of New York City service, then the EDWINS model he helped build in Cleveland and in prison. Brandon Chrostowski’s 2025 James Beard Foundation Impact Award lands on work that already linked restaurant discipline with public purpose, without separating one from the other. Apprenticeship under Charlie Trotter at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago put pace and exactness at the center of the job from the outset. Work under Jean Bardet in Tours, France, and under Alain Senderens at Lucas Carton in Paris, France, added more of the same in different registers: rigor, refinement, and the habits of close attention that define serious kitchens. Each room widened the standard. By 2005, the saucier role at Picholine in Manhattan, New York City placed him in the middle of the kitchen’s timing and responsibility. From there came chef de partie at Le Cirque in Manhattan, New York City, then manager at Chanterelle in Manhattan, New York City. The sequence matters: line work first, then broader control of service, each step extending the range of what a restaurant operator has to read and manage. At L'Albatros in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved from manager to sommelier, fromager, and general manager between 2008 and 2013, taking on more than one language of the dining room. The work moved across cellar, cheese, and operations, which is another way of saying the craft was not confined to one station. In 2017, that public-facing outlook carried into his candidacy for Mayor of Cleveland at City of Cleveland, Ohio. The role most associated with him now remains founder, president, and chief executive officer of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute (since 2007).

Where They Are Now

EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, founded in 2007, is the central structure of Brandon Chrostowski’s work, and he has served as its president and chief executive officer since then. The model is specific: a six-month program run at EDWINS restaurant in Cleveland and in prison. That design ties instruction to repetition, service standards, and the conditions of reentry. At EDWINS, the restaurant is part of the curriculum rather than a separate showcase. Training, service, and daily repetition are built into the same system, with the prison component extending the work beyond the dining room. In Brandon Chrostowski’s case, Cleveland is the fixed point, but the craft is carried through a program that links hospitality to second chances without softening either side of the equation.

Career - founder, president, and chief executive officer — EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute, Cleveland, Ohio (2007–present) - apprentice under Charlie Trotter — Charlie Trotter's, Chicago - worked under Jean Bardet — Tours, France - worked under Alain Senderens — Lucas Carton, Paris, France - saucier — Picholine, Manhattan, New York City (from 2005) - chef de partie — Le Cirque, Manhattan, New York City - manager — Chanterelle, Manhattan, New York City - manager; later sommelier, fromager, and general manager — L'Albatros, Cleveland, Ohio (2008–2013) - candidate for Mayor of Cleveland — City of Cleveland, Ohio (2017)

Signature

Brandon's signature dishes include Knife Skills, beurre rouge, bordelaise sauce, and seafood sausage. The list is telling in its own way. Knife Skills points to the first discipline of the kitchen, where repetition and control are learned before anything else. Beurre rouge and bordelaise sauce sit in the classical register, while seafood sausage suggests practical invention inside a traditional framework. Together, they describe a cook whose work is grounded in method, not display.

Honors

Brandon's honors include James Beard Impact Award, Silver Plate Award (2020), Harvey's Heroes, CNN Heroes, Forty Under 40, and Auggie. Seen together, the recognitions trace a career that has moved from