Brandon Baltzley Profiled in New Issue of Details

For a chef who hasn't really held down a post in Chicago for more than a month prior to landing his current gig as chef de cuisine at Pensiero Ristorante, Brandon Baltzley has gotten a lot of media attention, not always for positive things. Now Details has a pretty big feature on Baltzley in the new issue, which hits newsstands today, and it shines a little more light onto Baltzley's somewhat reckless past.

Titled Appetite for Destruction, the piece chronicles Baltzley's frenetic life in the food world and how drugs, alcohol, music and obsession have played a role in his quest for culinary greatness. Baltzley's antics have been well chronicled in the local media, but it's interesting that a national magazine would focus so much attention on him at this point in his career.

Many people, including Longman & Eagle chef Jared Wentworth, have hailed his cooking, while many others have never had the chance to see what skills he may or may not possess.

To do a piece on someone who has risen and fallen a number of times over the last five or so years is puzzling, but maybe this is the shot Baltzley needs to keep his head focused on his food now that he has a good gig at Pensiero. Or perhaps the magazine is trying to put its stamp on a possible "next great chef." The article is somewhat as disjointed as Baltzley's past, but it does paint a pretty good picture of what he's been up to and how his mind works. Try to keep up.
· Appetite for Destruction [Details]
· All Brandon Baltzley Coverage on Eater Chicago [~EChi~]