There’s a new fine dining restaurant in downtown Milwaukee led by a James Beard Award-winning chef.
Adam Siegel opened Lupi & Iris earlier this year.
WTMJ’s Libby Collins had the chance to talk to Siegel about the new place and much more.
Listen in the player above.
A portion of the conversation was transcribed below, courtesy of eCourt Reporters, Inc.
LIBBY COLLINS: How did you end up in Milwaukee?
ADAM SIEGEL: Through Paul and Joe Bartolotta. Twenty-two years ago, I — you know, Paul was a mentor and, you know, and I hadn’t worked for him since Spiaggia, but I was — I had just moved back from Italy and I was in — working in Washington, D.C., and I was in touch with Paul, and he and Joe were about to expand, and they were about to take over Potawatomi’s food and beverage. And so, they asked if I wanted to come out here for, like, maybe a year or two. And, you know, I thought, okay, Milwaukee for a year. I had just gotten married, I was — my wife was expecting our first child. And so, we came out here.
And, you know, I’d never really spent much time in Milwaukee before, I’m from Chicago originally but came up here once or twice before, and my wife had never been here. We flew out here to check it out and we liked it. You know, it wasn’t, you know, just Laverne and Shirley or anything like that, there was a lot more to it. And so, we — we decided to give it a try.
LIBBY COLLINS: How do you think — and as you said you — you worked in Europe, you were in Washington, you were in Chicago, how does Milwaukee compare to other cities? They’re known for their cuisine.
ADAM SIEGEL: I want to say that, you know, we compare to other cities, some local ones in a great way, you know, like, you know, Minneapolis and some of the smaller — you know, some of the larger, smaller big cities, I guess, you could look at it that way, but, you know, we’ve come a long way in the 20 years that I’ve been here. You know, there’s a great food scene that’s developed, there’s many great chefs, there’s many great restaurants. You know, we just — you know, we — somebody from Milwaukee, Dane Baldwin, just won the James Beard Best Chef in the Midwest, and I couldn’t be more proud of that, you know, for Dane and for this city.
And, you know, so we’ve come a long way. And I think that, you know, we — one thing about Milwaukee is that they still try to just be Milwaukee, they don’t try to be anywhere else. They, you know — I think that’s where a lot of the Milwaukee pride comes from is that, you know, they’re not trying to compete against anyone, they’re just trying to be who they are.
LIBBY COLLINS: You mentioned the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Midwest, you won it.
ADAM SIEGEL: I did in 2008, yeah.
LIBBY COLLINS: Yeah, what was that like?
ADAM SIEGEL: That was — you know, it was incredible, because, you know, it was a lot — a little bit different than it is now. You know, now there’s a little bit more campaigning, there’s a little bit more — because, you know, you have the Internet, everybody has, like, you know, Facebook, Instagram, you know, they’re just getting the word out there. I mean, when I had it, you know, in 2007, you know, Facebook and all that existed, I didn’t have it, but, you know, it was just like all the sudden I found out that somebody nominated me for the James Beard Award, I was like, really, you know.
And so, it was really exciting, and that was 2007, the first time I was nominated, flew out to New York with Joe and Paul and our wives, and, you know, some other people. And, you know, it was a big thing at the Lincoln Center, you know, in New York. And it was really cool. I didn’t win that year, so I got to go back again in 2008 because I was nominated again, and I won in 2008. And, I mean, it’s just — it was such a great feeling. It was like, you know, it was like a rush. It was — you know, I was so excited for, not just myself, but for the city, because I think, you know, it helps push us into the direction that we needed to get going in the city.
LIBBY COLLINS: How are you judged on something like that? I mean, how does that award come about? You said you were nominated, but who nominates you? Is there a nominating committee? How do they judge you? How was it determined?
ADAM SIEGEL: So, anyone — I believe the way it works is anyone can throw your name out there to get it, to get a nomination. So, it opens up, then it goes to a nominating committee who then, you know, are, you know, experts in the region and everything like that. Then determine who’s — you know, if there eligible — whether or not you’re eligible, and then they determine who is then nominated. And then they come up with this long list of, like, 20 people, about, usually. And then from there it goes down to a short list, which is the actual nominations, and there’s usually five or six in that group. And, you know, then who votes for you to win are — there’s certain people who vote for you to win, and it’s former winners, you know, industry professionals and, you know, some committee members and everything. And, you know, after I won, I was able to then vote for people. So, it was cool.
LIBBY COLLINS: Is it pretty competitive?
ADAM SIEGEL: It’s — you know, it is and it isn’t. It’s — it’s kind of like, you know, comparing, like, you know, music awards or, you know, movie awards. You know, it’s — there’s — not really competition, there’s no cooking competition or anything to get in. It’s just you’re in competition against yourself in normal, you know, day-to-day, you know, all the other businesses that you compete against to do what it is that you have to do to win, and that’s just run your business.
LIBBY COLLINS: That’s kind of interesting that you said you’re in competition with yourself.
ADAM SIEGEL: Yes.
LIBBY COLLINS: Explain that a little bit more.
ADAM SIEGEL: Well, you know, you’re in competition with yourself because if you want to be the best that you can be, you’re the one who’s got to be the one who has to be the best. So, concentrating, constant, you know, keeping your eye on the ball, constant tasting, and everything that it takes to be a great chef has to be done by you. And that’s — you know, you’re in competition with yourself. I never look at it as like, you know, I have to go out and I have to be better than them or do anything like this. I have to do the best that I can possibly do and just keep pushing myself to do that well. I have to make sure that I taste everything, that I teach my palate what something is supposed to be like, to hone my knife skills, to teach the people that work for me constantly and critique them, and to, you know, guide them so that they can do the best that they can do and continue learning. And then that in turn does great for the restaurant.