Each month Gather by D'Amico invites a guest chef to bring their culinary magic to the guests of our restaurant. We have had many award winning chefs that have been nationally recognized for their creativity and ingenuity. Take a moment and peruse a bit of our culinary history.
Current Chef
Past Guests
- Chef Isaac Becker
- Chef Vincenzo Betulia
- Chef Josh Brown
- Chef Steve Brown
- Chef Seth Daugherty
- Chef Doug Flicker
- Chef Scott Foster
- Chef Justin Frederick
- Chef Saul Chavez
- Chef Adam King
- Chef Russell Klein
- Chef Jamie Malone
- Chef Tim McKee
- Chef Jack Riebel
- Chef Alex Roberts
- Chef Lenny Russo
- Chef Don Saunders
- Chef Jay Sparks
- Chef Charlie Schwandt
- Chef Sameh Wadi
- Chef Lucia Watson
CHEF LENNY RUSSO - Heartland Restaurant & Farm Direct Market
Chef Lenny Russo and his wife Mefa Hoehn opened Heartland: A Contemporary Midwestern Restaurant in October, 2002
Before opening the restaurant, Chef Russo spent four and a half years as Executive Chef of W.A. Frost & Company in St. Paul's Cathedral Hill neighborhood, and over the last 30 years he has held numerous positions including Corporate Chef of U.S. Restaurants and Corporate Chef of Aveda Corporation as well as Store Manager/Chef of the New French Café, Food & Beverage Director/Chef of Blackberry Creek Market, General Manager/Chef of the Loring Café, and Executive Chef of Faegre's, all in Minneapolis. In March of 2006, Chef Russo was contracted by Bon Apetit Management Company to helm the kitchens of the restaurants in the new Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. After a successful opening there during which Cue the Guthrie was named Best New Restaurant by Mpls./St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine, Chef Russo returned full time to Heartland. In March, 2007 he was named "Restaratuer of the Year" by Mpls./St. Paul Magazine honoring his work both at Heartland and Cue.
Russo was nominated as Best Chef: Midwest by the James Beard Foundation in 2010 and 2011.