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Culinary Grad Sarah Grueneberg Receives Continued Accolades

Houston Culinary graduate Sarah Grueneberg is no stranger to hard work or well-earned praise. On May 4, 2017, Sarah achieved one of the industry’s most prestigious culinary honors when she was named “Best Chef: Great Lakes” by the James Beard Foundation at the annual James Beard Foundation Awards. In April 2018, she premiered the new show “Dishalicious” on PBS Chicago, serving as host while inviting guest chefs to prepare dinner party dishes for a live studio audience. Sarah is the chef and partner of Chicago’s Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio. Before opening Monteverde in 2015 with business partner Meg Sahs, she worked under Chef Tony Mantuano of Chicago’s four-star Spiaggia restaurant where she rose through the ranks from line cook to executive chef. During her time as executive chef, Spiaggia was awarded one Michelin Star for three consecutive years.

Sarah was also runner-up on Bravo’s “Top Chef: Texas,” season nine, and has been seen as a competitor on Food Network’s “Iron Chef Gauntlet.” Sarah counts Tony Mantuano, Bill Kim, Nadia Santini, Missy Robbins and fellow Art Institutes grad and James Beard Foundation award-winner Chris Shepherd as culinary inspirations. Sarah says that she enjoys “creating food that is soulful and represents her take on Italian cuisine with a twist.” When she can, she enjoys mentoring new chefs in the kitchen.

Sarah’s list of accolades includes being named a “Rising Star Chef” by Chicago Social magazine in 2009 and 2016 and Eater Chicago’s “Chef of the Year” in the 2011 Eater Awards. In 2016, Grueneberg’s Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio was named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s “America’s Best Restaurants” and was a top 50 finalist in Bon Appetit’s “Best New Restaurants” list. Similarly, the restaurant was named to GQ’s “12 Best New Restaurants,” Eater’s “21 Best New Restaurants in America,” one of Chicago Magazine’s “15 Best New Restaurants” and earned the “Worth the Wait” award in Chicago Tribune Dining Awards. In 2017 Monteverde was named one of “America’s 38 Essential Restaurants” by Eater. In 2018, the establishment was graced with “Restaurant of the Year” by the Jean Banchet Awards.

Sarah, who in 2001 earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts from The Art Institute of Houston, believes that her education helped her to prepare for a creative career. “The Art Institute of Houston was a wonderful place to learn my base knowledge of culinary education and technique.”

Photo by: Galdones Photography