Chef Dale Levitski
Chef Dale Levitski started his culinary career through high school and college, and in 1998 he worked for Carol Wallack at Deleece, learning the basics, and then for James Beard Award winning chef Paul Kahan at Blackbird, which he often cites as ‘his culinary school.’ His first position as executive chef was to open the breakfast-focused Orange, followed by La Tache, which was named one of the “Best New Bistros in North America” by Food & Wine magazine. One of the regulars was Henry Adaniya, who owned the critically acclaimed Trio and Adaniya. He offered Levitski the opportunity to take over upon Grant Achatz’s departure to open Alinea.
Following his success on Bravo’s Top Chef season three, Levitski took over Lincoln Park’s Sprout restaurant, during which time he was selected as a semifinalist for “Best Chef: Great Lakes Region” in 2011 by the James Beard Foundation. With Sprout owner Mike Causevic, Levitski opened Frog n Snail, a Midwestern bistro, in his own neighborhood.
Levitski made the move to Nashville in 2014 to helm the kitchen at Sinema in Nashville’s historic Melrose theater building, named Nashville Scene’s Best New Restaurant 2014. In 2016, Levitski joined the TomKats Hospitaliy (The Southern Steak & Oyster, Acme Feed & Seed), to open Tom Morales’s latest restaurant Fin & Pearl, Nashville’s premier sea-to-fork restaurant in The Gulch.
Over the course of 15 years, Levitski has received numerous honors and accolades for his cooking, including being tied to three different best new restaurant awards by Chicago Magazine. He has received four Jean Banchet Award nomination, including rising star chef, celebrity chef, and twice for best neighborhood restaurant. He has cooked three at the James Beard House by invitation.