|
|||||||||
|
|
 
|
|||||||
 |
About Chef Michael Taus Michael Taus is an intuitive, instinctive culinary artist and restaurateur. His deep, encyclopedic knowledge of all things culinary and strong commitment to one hundred percent attention to detail is evident in all elements of his award-wining restaurant. Michael Taus' instincts in the kitchen are finely tuned, allowing him to artfully express his unique culinary style - a cuisine that fuses contemporary American cuisine with vibrant flavors and styles from around the world. His dishes offer patrons an adventurous foray into a world of tastes, textures and appearances. Taus' interest in food stems from his grandmother teaching him to knead bread at a very early age. By age ten, he knew that food was his calling. A loving family nurtured his passion for cooking by creating food expressing their multi-ethnic background, an interesting European combination of Austrian-Czech, Northern Italian and Sicilian. Taus attended the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). During his schooling, he interned at Pierre Pollin's Le Titi de Paris in Artlington Heights, IL. Upon graduating from CIA in 1988, Taus landed a much-coveted position in Charlie Trotter's kitchen, a seminal experience that greatly influenced his future as a chef. From Trotter's, Taus traveled westward, spending a year at Joachim Splichal's Patina in Los Angeles. It is here where Taus developed his passion for Asian cuisine. With a newly-inspired culinary vision, Taus returned to Chicago in 1993 and opened Zealous in suburban Elmhurst. The name was derived from a reference letter that Charlie Trotter had written about Taus: "Michael is devoted to the art of cuisine with an almost religious zealousness." Forging ahead, Zealous and Taus' success came quickly. Less than a year after it opened, Zealous had earned honorable recognition in Chicago Magazine's Best New Restaurants feature in May 1994. But his grand vision for Zealous was still greater: To blend perfection in ambiance, fare, service and business within the confines of his own, unique establishment. With this in mind Taus moved Zealous to Chicago's sophisticated, vibrant River North area. Since opening in March of 2002, Zealous has earned 3 1/2 stars from the Chicago Tribune and 4 stars from Chicago Social. Taus' reputation has grown, and has received praise from many national culinary magazines.
|
|
||||||
