By Michelle Gibson and Shannon McMahon

All over the world, foodies are digging deeper into old culinary traditions while starting some new ones of their own. So what makes Columbus culinarians tick? A diverse cast of Central Ohio’s most creative and dynamic chefs got down to brass tacks to share their gastronomic philosophies.

Chef David Tetzloff

Executive Chef: G. Michael’s Bistro and Bar in German Village
Cooking Style: “Low-country” Southern
Home: Bexley.


CityScene Magazine : What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef David: “Bacon, butter, and fresh herbs.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef David: “At a place called ‘Someplace Else’ in Charleston, SC.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef David: “A perfect Maker’s Mark Manhattan, up with a twist, no cherry.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef David: “Frank Stitt from Birmingham, AL.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef David: “Heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn and basil, and if I’m lucky enough to find it, fresh butterbeans and black-eyed peas.”

Chef Brad Hardrider

Executive Chef: J. Liu’s in Dublin
Cooking Style: “New World Fusion”
Home: Dublin


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Brad: “Truffle oil, butter, and duck.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Brad: “J. Liu’s wild boar slider.” (not around anymore)

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Brad: “A Ketel One dirty, up with bleu cheese olives.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Brad: “Chef Rick Bayless.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Brad: “It’s a Louisiana-inspired dish: Creole shrimp, 4 large prawns, cornbread pudding, sautéed spinach, in a Creole butter sauce.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Brad: “Heirloom tomatoes.”

Chef Ben Geltzer

Executive Chef: Bexley Monk in Bexley
Cooking Style: “Contemporary American with a touch of southern”
Home: Clintonville


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Ben: “Bacon, butter, and any herbs that I grow at home: I always have basil, cilantro, lavender, and oregano.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Ben: “Skyway Drive-In on Market Street in Akron.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Ben: “That’s easy: Dewar’s on the rocks.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Ben: “It’s a tie between Chefs Thomas Keller and Mori Moto.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Ben: Chef Geltzer recently traveled to Puerto Rico, and had on his menu in May a couple Caribbean-inspired flavors in his dishes: “pork tenderloin with sweet potato and corn hash and a blood orange habanero sauce; also a jerk spiced mahi, with grilled pineapple salsa.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Ben: “Definitely have to say the tomatoes, and any kind of fruit, like strawberries.”

Chef Christy Sobish

Executive Chef: Bel Lago Waterfront Bistro in Westerville
Cooking Style: Italian
Home: Westerville

CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Christy: “Basil, oregano, and cumin.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Christy: “From Graffiti Burger in Dublin. They have good burgers.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Christy: “Skittle Martini.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Christy: “I guess I don’t really have one…I like them all!”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Christy: “We don’t have any right now, but probably will next fall.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Christy: “Heirloom tomatoes.”

Chef Magdiale Wolmark

Executive Chef: Dragonfly Neo-V Cuisine
Cooking Style: Vegetarian using local, plant-based ingredients in regional fusion
Home: Short North
Honors: James Beard Award Semi-Finalist in 2010.

CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Magdiale: “Truffle oil, aged balsamic vinegar, and Barnier olives.”

CS: What is the best vegetarian dish you’ve ever had?
Chef Magdiale: “It was something I made—grilled lobster mushrooms with a vegan béarnaise sauce.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Magdiale: “A Lavender Gimlet.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Magdiale: “I like Chef Takashi [Yagihashi] in Chicago.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu?
Chef Magdiale: “I always have a little bit of travel going on in the dishes. I lived in Brazil for year, and I often put a mocqueca risotto on the menu—it’s a Brazilian coconut milk stew.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Magdiale: “I have a garden at the restaurant, so I grow a lot of my own ingredients, but in July it’s nice to have baby squash with the blossoms still on. In my garden, too, I have sour cherries, red currants, and heirloom pole beans—specifically Garden of Eden pole beans—and edible flowers, things that are not available at the market. So it’s a mix of things I can get at the market and things I grow myself.”

Chef Hubert Seifert

Founder and Executive Chef: SPAGIO in Grandview
Cooking Style: Modern American, European and Pacific Rim
Home: Columbus


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Hubert “Butter, foie gras and fresh Ohio vegetables.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Hubert: “The Kobe beef burger with blue cheese and grilled onions that I make at SPAGIO.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Hubert: “Brandy Alexander.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Hubert: “Paul Haeberlein from Alsace, France.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Hubert: “Right now we have an Italian-inspired dish called porketta. There is a porketta pizza, a porketta sandwich, and a porketta main course with spinach gnocchi.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Hubert: “Tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and fresh onions.”

Chef Alex Rodriguez

Executive Chef: Luce Enoteca in Powell
Cooking Style: Modern Italian
Home: Blacklick


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Alex: “Basil, balsamic vinegar, and shallots.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Alex: “The best burger I’ve had is at home; in my house, on my deck, at my grill. I love to buy some great ground beef and I like to make it spicy, so I’ll mix in some queso fresco, habanero and cilantro and grill.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Alex: “Rum and Coke made with a good eight year old Bacardi.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Alex: “Scott Conant is great on Italian cooking, Douglas Rodriquez on Latino cooking and Ferran Adria from Spain on tapas and gastronomic food.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Alex: “Nothing specific right now. On the last menu we had a Moroccan-inspired dish that had couscous and vegetables that was really well received.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Alex: “Tomatoes, fresh herbs and Ohio corn.”

Chef Richard Blondin

Executive Chef: The Refectory in Upper Arlington
Cooking Style: Classic French
Home: Powell


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Richard: “Shallots, chervil and chocolate.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Richard: “I don’t eat a lot of burgers, so probably one I’ve had [at the Refectory] during a staff meal.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Richard: “Kir Royale.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Richard: “Pierre Orsi.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Richard: “No.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Richard: “Seasonal fruits and vegetables grown in Ohio, specifically beets, cherries and strawberries.”

Chef Erin Chittum

Executive Chef: Cameron Mitchell’s M, Downtown
Cooking Style: “All over the board,” with classic French techniques
Home: Westerville


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Erin: “Salt, butter, garlic.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Erin: “A turkey burger that best friend’s husband makes on Texas toast.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Erin: “Margarita.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Erin: “Thomas Keller.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Erin: “Tuna tartare from California.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Erin: “Fresh tomatoes and seasonal mushrooms.”

Chef Kent Rigsby

Executive Chef and Owner: Rigsby’s Kitchen in the Short North
Cooking Style: Modern Italian
Home: Upper Arlington


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Kent: “Extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and passion.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Kent: “The weekly hamburger I make for me and the kids.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Kent: “Negroni.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Kent: “Mike Kimura from Kihachi in Dublin.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Kent: “Beets and skorthalia from Greece.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Kent: “Fresh home-grown greens like arugula and artisan lettuces, and tomatoes during tomato season.”

Chef Thomas Smith

Executive Chef: The Worthington Inn
Cooking Style: French and Italian influences to in a unique, Modern American style
Home: “Just 150 feet away from the Inn” in Worthington


CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Thomas: “Olive oil, sea salt and farm fresh eggs.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Thomas: “Booker’s Manhattan.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Thomas: “Madeleine Kamman.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Thomas: “Poki tuna from Hawaii.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Thomas: “Seasonal vegetables like rhubarb and Ohio-grown produce like corn, tomatoes and strawberries.”

Chef Bill Glover

Executive Chef: Sage American Bistro
Cooking Style: Contemporary American
Home: Clintonville

CityScene Magazine: What are three ingredients that need to be in your personal kitchen at all times?
Chef Bill: “Salt, olive oil and pepper.”

CS: What is the best burger you’ve ever had?
Chef Bill: “Graffiti Burger in Grandview.”

CS: What is your favorite cocktail?
Chef Bill: “Bulleit Bourbon on the rocks.”

CS: Who is your favorite chef?
Chef Bill: “(Thomas) Keller.”

CS: Do you have any travel-inspired dishes on your menu right now?
Chef Bill: “San Francisco has been a source of inspiration for some of the dishes.”

CS: What is in season in July and August that you rush to get at the farmer’s market?
Chef Bill: “I don’t ever really go with a plan, so I buy whatever looks best.”