Page 15 - Leisure Living Magazine: Holiday 2020 Edition

Chef in the Spotlight Meet Chef Aaron Jackson
Executive Chef at Crosswinds Restaurant and Bar
By Sherri Roth, Feature and Food Writer
There’s a new chef in vacationland, and he is hard at work elevating the dining experience along our lakeshore. Chef Aaron Jackson recently joined Crosswinds Restaurant and Bar, bringing with him years of culinary experience including classical training in Italian and French cuisine, and his own expertise in Southern cooking. A graduate of one of the top ten culinary schools in the nation, and a former protégé of famed Chef Alfio Gulisano (owner of the highly acclaimed Alfio’s Buon Cibo in Cincinnati), in his interview Chef Jackson talks about his passion for
food and his new role in the kitchen of Crosswinds:
Crosswinds’ owners Eric and Theresa Schramm emphasize that you bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their kitchen. What training have you had and how has it benefitted you as a chef?
I graduated from Sullivan Culinary Institute in 1999. Fortunately, I was able to perform both an internship and extern- ship at Bella Luna (the legendary Italian Restaurant in Hyde Park, Cincinnati), under Chef Alfio Gulisano. He was a great influence and I spent time with him daily. A highlight was when I traveled to Italy with him, where I learned a lot about Italian cuisine first-hand.
Who has inspired you along the way?
My dad gave me three things: rhythm, a passion for food, and gray hair!! When I was young, my dad worked as a prep cook in downtown Chicago and he passed his love of cooking on to me. During my time in Italy, I met an Italian woman named Barbara Rosa. We com- pared my American southern heritage to her Italian heritage and found that our backgrounds weren’t that different.
Although we grew up on different sides of the ocean, both of our cultures were poor and we were given leftovers to cook, but they still man- aged to create delicious-tasting food. Barbara and I had a great connection.
What’s the one kitchen gadget you can’t live without?
Definitely a chef ’s knife. It’s essential for every chef to function. In a pinch, I can use it to replace all sorts of kitchen equipment. I think of a chef ’s
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Chef Aaron Jackson of Crosswinds Restaurant and Bar
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