Missy Corey

Missy Corey trained at Art Institute of Chicago.

At Pennyroyal Cafe & Provisions in Saugatuck, Michigan, Corey works as Executive Chef on a menu built around restraint, clarity, and what the region offers in its own time. The plates stay composed without leaning on ornament: pecan-rye crusted walleye, roasted chicken with fries, campfire trout with seasonally changing vegetables, Michigan blueberry pancakes, and Dutch baby. The structure of the cooking is plain to read.

Rye brings grain and snap to lake fish; blueberries set a regional marker in the pancakes; vegetables shift with the season instead of being held to a fixed calendar. Even campfire trout names its method directly, pointing to heat, smoke, and open-air cooking. Pennyroyal’s food favors that kind of directness, letting ingredients lead before any flourish gets involved. Corey has also described the restaurant’s relationship to the land around it: “We like to plant perennial herbs and flowers and use them in many applications at the farm and restaurant.” That approach places the farm and kitchen in the same working cycle, with the same plants moving through multiple uses rather than sitting in one category.

Missy's signature dishes include smoked whitefish melt, pecan-rye crusted walleye, roasted chicken with fries, campfire trout, and Michigan blueberry pancakes.

Corey has been a James Beard Awards semifinalist, recognition that places her Saugatuck work in national view while keeping the food grounded in Michigan ingredients and direct technique.