Greg Baxtrom
Olmsted | Brooklyn
October 2019
The minute he left high school, Greg Baxtrom set his sights on a career in cooking. He began his journey at Kendall College in Evanston, Illinois, which soon shipped him out of the country for an internship in France. Upon his return, Baxtrom resumed his schooling stateside while living just down the street from Alinea in Chicago.
Tasked with developing a restaurant concept for a class project, Baxtrom chose to mimic the venerable restaurant just steps from his apartment. But, when he visited Alinea, hoping merely to do some on-location research, Grant Achatz put him to work.
Three-and-a-half years later, having risen to the role of sous chef, Baxtrom left to explore the wider world of cooking. He spent time in the New York kitchens of North End Grill, Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and Per Se, as well as Lysverket in Norway. Perhaps most fortuitously, he cooked at Atera during Matt Lightner’s tenure and met horticulturist Ian Rothman, who would become a partner in his first solo project, Olmsted.
At Olmsted, Baxtrom and Rothman have built an inviting space rich with carved wood and an outdoor dining area with a functional garden complete with two egg-laying quail. It’s the ultimate neighborhood-cum-destination restaurant. Just across the street is Maison Yaki. There, Baxtrom serves French food Japanese style, in smaller portions and on skewers, allowing diners to sample a little bit of everything.
2019 StarChefs Chefs Congress Presenter
2017 StarChefs New York Rising Stars Award Winner
