Greg Wade and Evan Robinson

Teaches at La Scuola at Eataly Chicago

Leading America’s bread renaissance in Chicago is Greg Wade, Head Baker at Publican Quality Bread, the wholesale bakery under the Publican family of restaurants.  Chef Greg started his baking career at Taxim, before joining the team at Girl & the Goat, Little Goat and Little Goat French Market to focus on baked bread and pastries.  Since joining Publican Quality Bread as head baker in 2014, he has transformed the concept’s baking program from a seedling operation within Publican Quality Meats to a highly successful wholesale division, working with top chefs, farmers and retail owners.  Specializing in whole grains and fermentation, Chef Greg was honored with a James Beard Award for “Outstanding Baker” in 2019, and has been featured in the recently released documentary, "Sustainable: A Documentary on the Local Food Movement in America.”

Evan Robinson, a 14-year-old freshman at Jones College Prep in Chicago, finished in the top 6 of 24,000 in Season 5 of MasterChef Junior.  Chef Evan was the Welcome Speaker to 1800 delegates at the National Child Nutrition Conference in 2019 and represented the US as the youngest Illinois delegate to the International Slow Food Festival in Turin, Italy, in 2018.  He created and executed three #PiesForPuertoRico fundraisers benefiting hurricane relief efforts and co-created a line of cereals for Kids for Kashi.  Chef Evan’s philosophy:  he takes ordinary foods and “evanates” them, taking them to the next level.  He has cooked with Chef Rick Bayless to benefit The Whole Kids Foundation, raising over $60,000 to put beehives and gardening education in Chicago Public Schools