Chef Erik Hansen

When Erik Hansen isn’t in the kitchen, he’s likely headed outdoors. You’ll find him hiking and camping, with his family preferably: his wife, Carilyn, and their daughter, Eve, and son, Olie. If that’s not an option, the Executive Chef is probably stocking up on cookbooks, considering his next tattoo, or playing around with techniques he has learned from his travels abroad.

When asked about his travels
"My wife and I lived in Italy for almost nine months. I enrolled in some cooking classes in Florence. I knew all of the teachers were restaurant owners, so I befriended three of the teachers and ended up working in their restaurants. That experience has shaped how I approach food. After that, I did my apprenticeship and I ended up working with Scott Shully for 9 years. He was a chef at a hotel in Switzerland, and he sent me to work in the hotel he’d worked in."

On why he came back to Wisconsin
"There’s a genuineness and a humbleness to Wisconsinites that is hard to find in other places. The chefs that I’ve worked with here, there is a genuine camaraderie. We learn things from each other.

"When I was coming up, there was this fierce protectiveness for chefs’ ideas and recipes. Now I could walk into Ardent, DanDan, Goodkind, and they’d literally give me anything and I’d reciprocate. Any time we all get together it is fun.

"That’s a major reason to be in Milwaukee. The restaurant scene is getting better every day."