SUNDAY SUPPER

Chef Brandon Chrostowski

Founder, CEO and president of EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, Brandon Edwin Chrostowski is renowned for changing culinary and hospitality training—in and out of the nation’s prisons—while preserving French cooking traditions. His mission-driven effort to train and staff former prison inmates at his flagship French restaurant and nonprofit has created a national model for re-entry and an educational pipeline for formerly incarcerated to learn the discipline and skill of fine dining. A classically trained chef and sommelier, Chrostowski honed his skills at fine dining establishments in Paris, New York, and Chicago, including Lucas Carton, Chanterelle, Picholine, Le Cirque and Charlie Trotter’s.

Recognition of his culinary efforts include 2022 James Beard Award Semifinalist; IFMA’s 2020 Silver Plate, CNN 2016 Heroes, Crain’s “40 under 40” Awards; The Richard C. Cornuelle Award from the Manhattan Institute for Social Entrepreneurship; being featured as the subject of the Academy Award nominated documentary Knife Skills; and features in notable national media outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post and TODAY. Chrostowski earned an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Restaurant Management from The Culinary Institute of America. He resides in Cleveland with his wife Catana and their children, Leo, Lilly and Lynx.

Chef Rob Records

Chef Rob Records’ favorite way to research and brainstorm new recipes is to travel around the country — and to eat everything he possibly can in each place he visits. The veteran chef from North Olmsted brings back everything he learns and finds a way to work the best of it into his menus here at home. Which includes work at Lindey’s Lake House and Cedar Creek Grill and Bar Italia. Chef Records also spent 10 years as the Executive Chef of Johnny’s Bar in downtown Cleveland. 

Chef Rob Records opened JoJo’s Bar in 2021. JoJo’s Bar is a modern take on the Italian-American Steakhouse tradition. It references the flavors, style and timeless flair of this classic genre. Chef Rob Records runs the kitchen, which produces a menu that offers “prime steaks” and “prime Italian” foods. It also offers soups, desserts, assorted bar foods, select coffee drinks and a number of cocktails.

Executive Chef James Thornton

Normandy Catering’s Executive Chef James Thornton has been working in the Cleveland restaurant and catering scene for over 20 years. He was awarded Ohio’s first AAA Five diamond certification for his contributions, as well as winning many local and national culinary competitions.

Always eager to expand his culinary skills, James has extensive world travels in which he has learned authentic cooking techniques from France, Switzerland, Brazil, Japan, Greece, Peru, Colombia, Spain, Thailand, Egypt and beyond.

Fun Fact: Normandy Catering is Hiram House’s exclusive meal service for summer camp, school camp and weekend retreat!

Chef John Kolar

Thyme 2’s John Kolar didn’t even start cooking until he was almost 30. Fast forward a couple of decades and he is one of the most respected and highly-trained executive chefs this culinary scene has to offer. All through high school, Kolar and his brothers worked at the family business – K&K Portage Market, a provider of meats on Cleveland’s west side dating back four generations of Kolars. A family friend got Kolar in at Moxie in Beachwood, where he worked with renowned Cleveland chef Doug Katz. Katz is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. This inspired Kolar to further his education, as well. So he and wife Kathy checked out CIA, and before the newlyweds knew it, they were moving to New York. Kolar would go on to excel at CIA and then work with some of the industry’s best.

The chef who would eventually train Kolar? None other than French-American culinary sensation Jean-Georges Vongerichten, one of the most famous chefs in the world, who operates restaurants in not only New York, but Las Vegas, London, Paris, Shanghai, Tokyo and beyond. 

Thyme 2 is located at 113 West Smith Road in Medina. Note: there is no parking on Smith Road. Use City of Medina Lot 4 located on the west side of South Court Street between Smith and Washington.

Chef Matt Mytro

Matthew Mytro never considered anything other than cooking. It simply felt natural and he quickly became determined to find a way to turn this raw instinct for food into something real. At 19, he sold his collection of turntables and used every last dime on cookbooks and never looked back. A fellow Clevelander, Mytro attended Euclid High School. Upon graduating, he literally begged for a job at Chefs for Hire catering. As part of his responsibilities, he had to wash dishes by hand. The sooner he was done, the sooner they would allow him mirror other chefs, learning and practicing. Mytro spent four years at the catering company, working his way up from dishwasher to a promising sous chef. Here, Mytro was exposed a wide spectrum of events and gatherings, from intimate dinner parties to lavish weddings, corporate parties and bar mitzvahs. He tirelessly worked above and beyond what was asked of him to further craft his education and skills.

From there, Mytro caught the attention of Boulevard Blue and Paladar where he helped run these kitchens, developing the menus and training others. His efforts named him Best New Chef in 2007 via Scene Magazine.  Mytro left Cleveland for a bit and spent time at Boca Raton Resort and Club and was part of the grand opening at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando where he ran the kitchen. He eventually returned home when chef Paul Minnillo – someone he grew up admiring – saw a genuine talent and passion in Mytro and brought him to Flour as his executive chef. Mytro knew the opportunity to cook with and learn from Minnillo was something he could never pass up.

At Flour, chef Mytro has helped craft a menu based on the seasons, balancing texture with flavor and presentation. He views the kitchen as his playground and has a genuine desire to please, delight and surprise each diner. And it’s working, as Mytro continues to receive accolades and props from local media and food bloggers alike. The combination of chefs Minnillo and Mytro has even earned Flour the reputation as Cleveland’s best Italian restaurant by none other than Iron Chef Michael Symon. In 2012, Minnillo made Mytro a partner in the restaurant, further solidifying their relationship and proving that the concept and partnership of these two minds and talents works – and works well. That partnership and admiration for each other has grown beyond their flagship restaurant. Today, their work now includes the launch of the Flour Pizza Co at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, the Flour Pasta Company, handmade pasta sold at many regional grocers, and has significantly grown the catering arm of the restaurant into one of the most well-respected and sought-after caterers within Northeast Ohio.