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June 6, Joe Van Wagner, Echelon
Joe’s culinary roots reach back to the shores of Southwest Michigan’s fruit belt, where he grew up fishing, hunting, and exploring its many beaches and farms. During his adolescence Joe also spent time washing dishes, picking fruit at his friends’ blueberry farms, and even cooking food in some of the local diners.
This humble passion for food and service was intensified at Michigan State University, where he graduated with a degree in Hospitality Business. After school, Joe quickly found his way into restaurant management at one of Chicago’s most renowned fine dining establishments; a culinary experience so profound that it inspired Joe to make his way into the kitchen full time and never turn back. Since this pivotal point in 2009, Joe has worked professionally in some of the best kitchens in both the United States and Europe, with stints at Restaurant A.T. in Paris, Daniel in NYC, Willow’s Inn on Lummis Island, Blackbird in Chicago, Oak and Reel in Detroit, and now as the Executive Chef/Partner of highly regarded Echelon Kitchen and Bar in Ann Arbor.
It is through this myriad of culinary experiences that Joe’s eyes were opened to the true bounty of naturally produced foods back home in Michigan. Always looking to infuse local ingredients with true creativity and modern techniques, Joe’s aim is to develop a progressive culinary touchstone for Metro Detroit and Michigan for years to come.
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My culinary roots reach back to the shores of Southwest Michigan’s fruit belt, where I grew up fishing, hunting, and exploring its many beaches and farms. During my adolescence I also spent time washing dishes, picking fruit at his friends’ blueberry farms, and even cooking food in some of the local diners.
This humble passion for food and service was intensified at Michigan State University, where I graduated with a degree in Hospitality Business. After school, I quickly found my way into restaurant management at one of Chicago’s most renowned fine dining establishments; a culinary experience so profound that it inspired me to make his way into the kitchen full time and never turn back. Since this pivotal point in 2009, I have worked professionally in some of the best kitchens in both the United States and Europe, with stints at Restaurant A.T. in Paris, Daniel in NYC, Willow’s Inn on Lummis Island, Blackbird in Chicago, and Oak and Reel in Detroit.
It is through this myriad of culinary experiences that my eyes were opened to the true bounty of naturally produced foods back home in Michigan. I'm always looking to infuse local ingredients with true creativity and modern techniques. My aim is to develop a progressive culinary touchstone for Metro Detroit and Michigan for years to come. The culmination of my work thus far has led to Echelon Kitchen and Bar, a wood-fired, vegetable forward restaurant that we are opening in just a few short weeks (Early 2025).
I think the most unique aspect of our restaurant is that we will not have a "big truck produce company." Instead, all of our fruits and vegetables will come from local Michigan farms. We are also working with several other artisans and producers to procure other such products like locally milled flour, meat, fish, cheese, and even rare native growing vegetables that are foraged throughout the state. Everything we serve to the guest will be touched by wood smoke or fire at some point in its preparation. Michigan has the second largest bio-diversity in the country. We want to put that on full display at Echelon Kitchen and Bar, in a sustainable, eco-regenerative practice, that uses the most primal and time-honored cooking medium; fire.
Lastly, and equally important, at Echelon, we are aiming to rewrite the industry standard by creating a comfortable, enriching, and financially viable career path. We have created a Team Member Wellness Fund that takes a percentage of all revenue, and redistributes it to every non-tipped, hourly employee, regardless of profit. Our starting wage far exceeds the state minimum "tip-credit" wage established for tipped employees, and benefits are available to every single employee that works for us. Therefore, every single person that works at Echelon, has a literal stake in the business, and thus both an impact on our success, and a say in how our business is run. We have a culinary library where staff members can check out books but are required to come back and share what they learned. We even have a Sunday night workshop, where team members are encouraged to put up new dishes or workshop ideas they've been working on to receive peer feedback and Chef guidance. Not only do we want Echelon to serve memorable experiences for our guests, but we want to serve the people working within our four walls, and within our community. If we want to be a hospitality touchstone in this community, and even in this country, for years to come, we have to do what we say and say what we do; work really hard, take care of our people, take care of our community, create memorable dining experiences.
Joe’s culinary roots reach back to the shores of Southwest Michigan’s fruit belt, where he grew up fishing, hunting, and exploring its many beaches and farms. During his adolescence Joe also spent time washing dishes, picking fruit at his friends’ blueberry farms, and even cooking food in some of the local diners.
This humble passion for food and service was intensified at Michigan State University, where he graduated with a degree in Hospitality Business. After school, Joe quickly found his way into restaurant management at one of Chicago’s most renowned fine dining establishments; a culinary experience so profound that it inspired Joe to make his way into the kitchen full time and never turn back. Since this pivotal point in 2009, Joe has worked professionally in some of the best kitchens in both the United States and Europe, with stints at Restaurant A.T. in Paris, Daniel in NYC, Willow’s Inn on Lummis Island, Blackbird in Chicago, Oak and Reel in Detroit, and now as the Executive Chef/Partner of highly regarded Echelon Kitchen and Bar in Ann Arbor.
It is through this myriad of culinary experiences that Joe’s eyes were opened to the true bounty of naturally produced foods back home in Michigan. Always looking to infuse local ingredients with true creativity and modern techniques, Joe’s aim is to develop a progressive culinary touchstone for Metro Detroit and Michigan for years to come.
_____________________________________________________________________
My culinary roots reach back to the shores of Southwest Michigan’s fruit belt, where I grew up fishing, hunting, and exploring its many beaches and farms. During my adolescence I also spent time washing dishes, picking fruit at his friends’ blueberry farms, and even cooking food in some of the local diners.
This humble passion for food and service was intensified at Michigan State University, where I graduated with a degree in Hospitality Business. After school, I quickly found my way into restaurant management at one of Chicago’s most renowned fine dining establishments; a culinary experience so profound that it inspired me to make his way into the kitchen full time and never turn back. Since this pivotal point in 2009, I have worked professionally in some of the best kitchens in both the United States and Europe, with stints at Restaurant A.T. in Paris, Daniel in NYC, Willow’s Inn on Lummis Island, Blackbird in Chicago, and Oak and Reel in Detroit.
It is through this myriad of culinary experiences that my eyes were opened to the true bounty of naturally produced foods back home in Michigan. I'm always looking to infuse local ingredients with true creativity and modern techniques. My aim is to develop a progressive culinary touchstone for Metro Detroit and Michigan for years to come. The culmination of my work thus far has led to Echelon Kitchen and Bar, a wood-fired, vegetable forward restaurant that we are opening in just a few short weeks (Early 2025).
I think the most unique aspect of our restaurant is that we will not have a "big truck produce company." Instead, all of our fruits and vegetables will come from local Michigan farms. We are also working with several other artisans and producers to procure other such products like locally milled flour, meat, fish, cheese, and even rare native growing vegetables that are foraged throughout the state. Everything we serve to the guest will be touched by wood smoke or fire at some point in its preparation. Michigan has the second largest bio-diversity in the country. We want to put that on full display at Echelon Kitchen and Bar, in a sustainable, eco-regenerative practice, that uses the most primal and time-honored cooking medium; fire.
Lastly, and equally important, at Echelon, we are aiming to rewrite the industry standard by creating a comfortable, enriching, and financially viable career path. We have created a Team Member Wellness Fund that takes a percentage of all revenue, and redistributes it to every non-tipped, hourly employee, regardless of profit. Our starting wage far exceeds the state minimum "tip-credit" wage established for tipped employees, and benefits are available to every single employee that works for us. Therefore, every single person that works at Echelon, has a literal stake in the business, and thus both an impact on our success, and a say in how our business is run. We have a culinary library where staff members can check out books but are required to come back and share what they learned. We even have a Sunday night workshop, where team members are encouraged to put up new dishes or workshop ideas they've been working on to receive peer feedback and Chef guidance. Not only do we want Echelon to serve memorable experiences for our guests, but we want to serve the people working within our four walls, and within our community. If we want to be a hospitality touchstone in this community, and even in this country, for years to come, we have to do what we say and say what we do; work really hard, take care of our people, take care of our community, create memorable dining experiences.