Farm forward, intimate, and tasteful are just a few words you could use to describe The Cooks’ House in downtown Traverse City.
“We’ve been cooking together now for 21 years - 22 years. Somewhere around there. Yeah, we started in Las Vegas. Close brothers and sisters. Kind of the best way to describe us,” said The Cooks’ House Chef, Eric Patterson.
Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee opened the farm-to-table restaurant in 2008 on a leap of faith. And little did they know it would change the food scene in Northern Michigan forever.
“We try to use absolutely as much local/Michigan as we can. Because we believe in Michigan, we believe that Michigan can grow a product that is world-class, and we believe that we can produce a world-class product out of what has grown up here,” Patterson said.
Believing in Michigan produce, paired with incredible talent, led Patterson and Blakeslee to receive an honor that most chefs work towards their whole life.
“The James Beard Award is, sort of, in the culinary world as kind of the Oscars of culinary. It’s just the culinary world, Oscar night,” said Patterson.
Approximately only .075% of chefs globally are nominated as James Beard Award semifinalists each year.
“It’s validation for just so much hard work. Sacrifice,” Patterson said.
On June 16, Patterson and Blakeslee will head to Chicago, representing the Northern Michigan food scene, where they will see if they are the top chefs of the Great Lakes Region, a rare and prestigious honor.
“Even if we don’t win, we’re hopefully showing other restaurants - There are some talented, talented chefs up here. And we’re showing them that Northern Michigan’s on the map.