Chef
Chris Eley
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
i. Biography
Since 2007, Goose the Market in Indianapolis has been the public anchor of Chris Eley’s work. The throughline is place: an Indianapolis native working in the Midwest, with attention fixed on sourcing, butchery, ownership, and salumi. The emphasis is not on spectacle but on continuity, with the craft built through repetition, discipline, and a steady hand.
The Path
Proprietorship at Goose the Market, and ownership and butchery across Smoking Goose and Goose the Market, define the shape of Chris Eley’s career. Those roles place the work across both counter service and production, where trust and technique have to hold at the same time. As an Indianapolis native, Eley has kept his work tied to the city, even as it has developed a wider identity around meat craft and the traditions that support it.
The Work Today
At Goose the Market, Eley has been proprietor since 2007, a tenure that points to continuity rather than turnover. Since 2011, he has also been owner of Smoking Goose, both in Indianapolis, keeping the business footprint close to home. His current title as butcher/owner captures the practical split in the work: the retail side, the production side, and the daily responsibility of keeping both exact. Midwest sourcing gives the operation a regional center, and the work reads as methodical rather than decorative.
Signature
Salumi is the focus that gives Chris Eley’s practice its clearest technical shape. The work calls for patience, precision, and a respect for process, since the craft depends on measured transformation rather than quick result. In the wider field of meat work, salumi sits at the point where tradition and technique meet, and Eley’s attention to it helps define the character of his professional life.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Chris
What is Chris Eley's current role?
As of 2026, Chris Eley is Proprietor.
What is Chris Eley known for?
Salumi craft.
