Jimmy Bannos Jr.

The Climb

At Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island, Bannos Jr. began to absorb the pace and discipline that shape line work into craft. An internship at Emeril's in New Orleans, Louisiana added another kitchen system to the mix, before Chicago, Illinois brought him back to work for Gabriel Viti at Miramar Bistro and assist with opening at Mia Francesca in Chicago, Illinois. Those rooms, in different cities and at different tempos, gave his cooking its working frame. He later became chef and partner at The Purple Pig in Chicago, Illinois (2009–2024), the period most closely linked to his bold, Mediterranean-leaning style.

Today

At Kouklas Greek Eatery in Niles, Bannos serves as chef and owner, a role that lets the Mediterranean framework he works from stay active rather than nostalgic. The food remains rooted in that lineage, but the point is movement: a plate built from memory, then adjusted so it lands in the present tense. “My culinary style is one that’s rapidly evolving, and I hope I can always say that.” The value of that line is in its refusal to settle. For Bannos, change is part of the work, not a departure from it; tradition only holds if it can still take new form. That keeps the cooking anchored and alert at once.

Signature

Jimmy's signature dishes include shrimp and pork sweetbread sausage with romesco and ramps, roasted lemon chicken, Pork Saltimbocca with Swiss Chard, and Pork Shank Osso Buco.

In Their Words “The basis of what I do and everything that I study and practice has to do with Mediterranean roots.” “My culinary style is one that’s rapidly evolving, and I hope I can always say that.”

Recognition

The shrimp and pork sweetbread sausage with romesco and ramps from Bannos’s Chicago years shows the logic of his cooking with particular clarity. Framed as a spin on surf and turf, it was built so the diner could take in both elements in a single bite. That construction says a lot about how Bannos works: ingredients are not left to sit as separate statements, but pulled together so contrast is part of the mouthful. Sea and animal, sausage and sauce, ramps and romesco arrive together, giving his Pork-focused Mediterranean cooking a directness that still leaves room for complexity.