When Michael Gottlieb, was 13, he started watching the Food Network on TV. Right then, he knew he wanted to become a chef. “For some reason I always loved the chaos of the kitchen, and that’s what the restaurant business is,” says the new chef de cuisine at Bank Lane Bistro.
Michael, now 25, started working at the age of 14 at The Italian Kitchen in Deerfield; the heat, the sweat, the long hours, the burns and cuts—none of that bothered him. In fact, when Michael was in high school, he had an opportunity to participate in a Work Study program, leaving school at noon to go cook. “What could have been better?” he says.
His formal career was launched at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort. Michael learned how to work on the hot line in a professional kitchen. He got into the habit of making a prep list, knocking the tasks off that list, getting ready for service and having a cup of coffee before the guests arrive. That is something that Michael still does to get focused for the night: Have a hot cup of coffee and then go work in a hot kitchen. It works for him!
Chef Gottlieb has worked for some big-name chefs in the Chicagoland area. He worked full time at Gabriel’s in Highwood while going to school full time at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. He also worked for the world-renowned Carlos’ restaurant, progressing in the ranks from garde manger to saucier. He then worked for The Palm Steakhouse in Northbrook for three years. At that point Michael was offered a job by Rick Tramonto to work as a sous chef at the inception of Tramonto’s new empire in Wheeling. Michael’s kitchen-wide experience—from dishwasher to chef—makes him a great leader of staff. He knows that each job and every person along the way contributed to his arriving at such an important place at a relatively young age.
When Michael came to Bank Lane Bistro, he was working with the prior chef (John des Rosiers, who Michael considers much of a mentor) and had no idea that he would become the chef of Bank Lane Bistro. But John always had his eye on the way Michael cooks.
“There is something magical about seeing people smile when they eat the food we cook here. There is nothing better than hearing the famous salute when a customer loves the food, ‘Give my compliments to the Chef.’ That makes all the heat, sweat, long hours, burns and cuts worthwhile,” Michael says with misty eyes.
Nothing makes him happier than to see a customer enjoy his food. That’s our goal here at Bank Lane Bistro.
