CLEVELAND—Veteran Cleveland restaurateur Zack Bruell, in partnership with the 600-room Hilton Cleveland Downtown, will assist in opening his eleventh Zack Bruell Restaurant Group project, The Burnham, when the hotel opens for business in the heart of downtown Cleveland in June. Zack will be forging The Burnham’s concept and menu development alongside the brilliant culinary talents of Executive Chef Maxime Kien from the French Cote d’Azur region, and native Ohioan, Ryan Beck, chef de cuisine.
Bruell, a James Beard award nominee, brings more than 40 years of culinary and business experience to his consultancy role at The Burnham.
Beck, who grew up on his family’s farm in Northeast Ohio, constantly strives to create new memories through simple but bold flavors. He grew up experiencing and appreciating the effort to grow your own food and believes local sourcing is key to bringing out each ingredient’s best potential.
“The experience of dining out should be as entertaining as a night at the theater,” said Teri Agosta, general manager, Hilton Cleveland Downtown. “Combining the talent and creative energy of these three chefs, we plan to arouse all five senses by showcasing three generations of culinary talent in an environment both relaxing and stimulating.”
This trio will produce an unparalleled culinary experience for each guest. The American inspired menu, with an emphasis on small plates and a concentration on the lost art of sauce work, will be served in the welcoming, feel-good warmth of both the barroom and the formal restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“Creating a menu is like writing music. My culinary travels throughout the years, jump-started the creative side of my brain. I enjoy opening restaurants; it’s in my DNA,” said Bruell.
The Burnham’s menu will give diners glimpses of America’s diverse cuisine, rooted in the traditions of the past and innovations of the present. In Bruell’s first menu draft, one can see the fusions of epicurean cities beginning to form into dishes. From New Orleans and Charleston inspired Bread Pudding with gizzard and foie gras, Austin inspired mac and cheese with greens and pulled pork, topped with a disk of cornbread, jalapeños, and sherry vinegar sauce, to Bruell’s Cleveland inspired fried confit of chicken with Swiss cheese dumplings, stewed cabbage and paprika sauce—The Burnham’s menu is inimitable.
With three generations of chefs, cultivating the unique flavors of premier American food destinations, The Burnham, a restaurant influenced by famed architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham who was instrumental in the planning and building design for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair exhibition, the Flatiron Building in New York City and the 1903 Group Plan in Cleveland where the hotel stands, is destined to firmly establish itself as a must-visit staple of the Cleveland food scene. Displaying an open kitchen concept, The Burnham, with its two level bar, private dining and terrace, will seat 217 people and open in June 2016.
