James Beard-winning chef changes course
Chef Paul Berglund will be back in the kitchen this week — though it won’t be at the same location he started his venture into Rochester.
Chef Berglund will host a series of after-hours pop ups at Benedict’s Rochester. Events will be held Thursday through Saturday, both this week and next, from 6 to 10 p.m. The menu will feature “meticulously crafted, approachable” small plates, as well as pastas made by hand.
The series at Benedict’s, a breakfast restaurant located on the second floor of the Hilton in downtown Rochester, will be Berglund’s first time cooking for the public since departing from Fiddlehead Coffee Company.
Berglund confirmed Thursday morning that he has moved on from his previous position as Fiddlehead’s culinary and sustainability director. Announcement of his arrival to the café had garnered statewide attention.
As for the new collaboration with Benedict’s, Berglund said: “It’s not permanent, though it’s testing the waters for this type of event. We’ll see how these two weeks go, then assess future possibilities.”
Prior to arriving in Rochester, Berglund had been the chef at the four-star-rated Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis, as well as the culinary director for Young Joni and Pizzeria Lola. He won a James Beard Award in 2017.
The buzz on the street
Rochester’s newest brewery, Thesis Beer Project, opened this week. The nano brewery and taproom is located at 1929 Second Street Southwest.
Thesis, owned by husband-and-wife Adam Fredericksen and Allyson Palmer, is Rochester’s sixth brewery — and the fifth to open since 2015.
The brewery will feature five barrels and eight fermenters, allowing Fredericksen, also the head brewer, to experiment with different ingredients and flavors. The business is also heavy on art and music, and like other local breweries, has signaled an openness to collaboration.
In addition to beer, the tap room will also offer coffee from Café Steam. Those caffeinated products will be served in the morning hours.
Meantime, a seventh brewery known as Prime Stein is hoping to open in the early part of the winter. It will be located along 16th Street Southwest.
Theater at the Castle
Absolute Theatre has found a new home.
The theater company announced this month that it will host its 2019-20 series on the third floor of Castle Community, 121 North Broadway.
Absolute had previously moved around from venue to venue.
The upcoming season begins September 19 with “Honky Tonk Angels” and extends through April with an adaptation of “The Laramie Project.”
More information on Absolute Theatre can be found on its website.
Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.
