Sarah Grueneberg is fluent in assuaging one’s pasta cravings. But the antidotal effect of, say, her pillowy tortelloni di zucca or piles of black truffle chitarra is a fickle one—once you’ve tasted her inspired house-made pasta creations, you’ll bear a perpetual hunger for them.
The Bravo’s Top Chef alum is the chef and partner of Monteverde Restaurant and Pastificio in Chicago. A dynamic labor of love, Monteverde, which turns five this year, earned Grueneberg the 2017 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes.
Here, the chef chats with us about Monteverde, her time in Italy and what she has on the horizon.
Spaghetti al Pomodoro (ph Galdones Photography)
When did your love for Italian cuisine start and how has it evolved?
My love for Italian cuisine started when I was young. As a kid, I loved pasta, enough that I gravitated towards learning the craft of Italian pasta when I moved to Chicago in 2004 when I was 24 to stage at Spiaggia. I tried the gnocchi with black truffle and instantly knew I had to not only learn that dish but the art of Italian cuisine as a whole. It has evolved into countless hours of research, travel to the country, learning regional styles, meeting the people and producers to show me their Italy and all the different facets of the country. It’s a lifelong journey.
Chef Sarah Grueneberg (ph Galdones Photography)
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned in your career that you implement into your work every day?
The food has to be craveable. It has to be better than good. It needs to be a big bowl of love!
How has your time in Italy been fundamental to your career?
My time in Italy has been imperative. Being able to interact with the people and culture to truly understand how they eat is important to cooking great Italian food. Every region is so different too that it makes going back to Italy to explore even more fun. In order to be successful, you need to understand and respect the origin of a dish before you create your own version.
Gnocchetti con Pesto (ph Galdones Photography)
Tell us about Monteverde.
The inspiration for Monteverde was pasta. We wanted to put it at the forefront and showcase the simplicity and artisanal approach to crafting various shapes. We built a Pastificio in the middle of the restaurant that is elevated behind our bar. We make all of our fresh, such as anything stuffed or filled, to order which allows guests to eat the freshest, most delicate pasta. In addition to our pasta dishes, guests love our other snacks like our arancini, burrata e ham with house-made tigelle, stuffed cabbage, oma’s green mountain salad and our big, big bowl of love, the Ragù Alla Napoletana. The dish is 1½ pound pork shank with four giant soppressata meatballs, three cacciatore sausages and fusilli rustico tossed with meat ragù and escarole.
Main Dining Room (ph Galdones Photography)
We heart that you’re partnering with American Airlines. Could you tell us a little more about that?
This is an awesome opportunity that came to me through the James Beard Foundation. They’ve teamed up with American Airlines to showcase the Foundation’s “Good Food for Good” mission, which will showcase various up-and-coming chefs over the next couple of years. It’s a big honor to be the first chef chosen to debut the new partnership and bring a taste of Monteverde to American passengers. I’ve created dishes that will roll-out throughout the year and be available in Flagship first and business class cabins, Flagship Lounges and Flagship First Dining. The first two dishes on board were pastas, too – an Artichoke Ravioli with blistered cherry tomato sauce, and green olive pistachio pesto as well as Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo Pasta with pomodoro sauce, basil pesto, and pine nuts.
Ragù alla Napoletana (ph Galdones Photography)
Anything new in the works that you want to share?
Monteverde turns five this year and can’t believe it’s gone by so quickly. Not everyone always notices but we have a balsamic batteria above our Pastificio. We’ve been aging balsamic vinegar in different wood barrels using a product from our friend Andrea Bezzechi of Acetaia San Giacomo. We just did the Rincalzo process in January and now have enough of our own Monteverde balsamic that we plan to use on select dishes soon. We’re super excited to share this with our guests!