ENGLEWOOD — A South Side chef is returning to his roots this summer, offering bratwursts and a rotating selection of dishes as he aims to give young cooks their start in the industry.
Darryl Fuery, a chef for more than three decades, will open Haute Brats, 6239 S. Ashland Ave., in the next few weeks, with a grand opening planned for August.
The takeout restaurant will serve “hot dawgs,” crispy loaded fries, fresh elotes, homemade doughnuts and, of course, bratwurst, Fuery said. There will also be vegan and vegetarian options on the menu, Fuery said.
Fuery also hopes to use the space at Haute Brats to train chefs-to-be who want experience working in a fast-paced restaurant through his Teaching N Training L3C program.
Chefs in training will learn the essentials — like how to cut onions and work on a time frame — but they’ll also learn how to cook dishes like spinach lasagna and jerk chicken tacos, Fuery said.
The goal is to train local cooks who’ve always wanted to learn the ins and outs of working in a professional kitchen while serving a variety of high-quality foods to neighbors, Fuery said.
The restaurant will stick to its core menu — sausages and french fries — while serving different foods depending on the day, Fuery said.
Haute Brats will have sandwiches on Mondays, tacos on Tuesdays and pasta on Wednesdays. Thursday will be soul-food themed. Fridays will feature fish and seafood, and Saturdays will spotlight pizza.
By exposing chefs to different cooking techniques, Fuery hopes to prepare them for their next role — whether at Aramark, a company Fuery once worked for, or a Michelin-starred restaurant, he said.
“My program will give them the basic experience of learning to work in the kitchen, learning the language of the kitchen, without the pressure of knowing recipes,” Fuery said. “I’d rather teach people and give them the confidence to be able to go out and start their own career as opposed to being disillusioned of what the food service industry is and only lasting a year or two.”
The passion project hits close to home for Fuery, he said.
Fuery was a senior in college when his father, a chef at Hilton Chicago, died. He decided to take culinary classes in his father’s honor, and it wasn’t long before he realized he wanted to be a chef, too, he said.
After studying at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary College in Chicago, Fuery became a chef at the Field Museum in 1990. His work took him to Amtrak, where he traveled the country learning cuisines; ESPN Zone; and food service companies Aramark and Sodexo.
Nonetheless, Fuery always wanted to give back to his community in Englewood, he said. Opening Haute Brats finally gives him that opportunity, he said.
“I want to bring a people into Englewood and change the narrative about it being a violent area as opposed to where people can always come and get good food regularly,” Fuery said. “But most importantly, I want the neighbors to come out to support us and our chefs.”
Fuery hopes to source most of his fresh ingredients from the local farms in Englewood, he said. He plans to recruit chefs through community organizations like Teamwork Englewood and the Greater Englewood Development Corporation, he said.
Fuery said he hopes Haute Brats leaves a mark on Englewood and gives neighbors more choices in their area.
“We have a vast amount of food in the Chicagoland area, but, unfortunately, a lot of people in our neighborhood don’t really get out of the neighborhood,” he said. “Even though we have fast food, we’re doing it at a higher-quality level. I’m hoping to get people thinking about the types of foods that they’re eating.”
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