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About

Adam Ritter, Chef & Co-Owner

Adam grew up on a small family farm in St. Wendel, Minnesota and developed a passion for food and the kitchen from an early age. When he was eighteen years old, Adam moved to Los Angeles, California to attend the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, CA. After graduation, he moved to Las Vegas and joined the opening team of L’atelier de Joel Robuchon. He later moved to Joel Robuchon at the Mansion, working a total of 4 years between the two restaurants and helping to secure the three Michelin star rating in 2008. Adam then moved to Healdsburg, CA to work at the two Michelin starred Cyrus restaurant as a sous chef before heading to Singapore to work for Andre Chiang at Restaurant Andre, where he was a sous chef for 2 years and helped the team climb to #34 on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Adam then moved back to the states and landed in Chicago, working between TRU and Intro before moving home to join the team at Spoon and Stable, part of the Minneapolis-based Soigné Hospitality Group, led by Chef Gavin Kaysen. In 2018 Adam planned the opening and led all menu development at the group’s acclaimed Demi, where he has served as Chef de Cuisine. Demi was a finalist for James Beard Best New Restaurant of the nation.

Jeanie Janas Ritter, Hospitality Director & Co-Owner

Raised on a farm in LaPorte, Indiana, Jeanie’s passion for food and respect for ingredients has been present for as long as she can remember. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Jeanie spent time in the kitchen of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA before transitioning into front of the house operations. Upon graduating, she led teams at 2-Michelin star Cyrus in Sonoma County, CA, followed by Iggy’s in Singapore, then #26 on the San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurants list. While in Singapore, Jeanie also led the openings of Kaiseki Yoshiuiki and the Horse’s Mouth Bar along with Bacchanalia Restaurant, rated the World Gourmet Series Restaurant of the Year. After moving back to the states, Jeanie joined the leadership team at Hogsalt Hospitality in Chicago at Gilt Bar and Bavette’s Bar and Boeuf. Finally settling down in Minnesota, she opened and led the team at Bellecour Restaurant and Bakery in Wayzata, MN until their closure in 2020 and most recently, brought her various talents into a dynamic role as the Operations Director at Cooks | Bellecour.

Cory Western, Chef de Cuisine

Cory grew up on a hobby farm in Osceola, WI, where his family always had a couple of pigs, a large garden, and a strong love of food. In true Wisconsin fashion, his first job was at a supper club called The Old Fashioned in Madison, WI. Cory studied Mechanical Engineering at UW Madison and dropped out after three and a half years after finally accepting that he hated it and knew that he was destined for another path. It was during this time that he started working at Graze, a gastropub opened by James Beard award winner Chef Tory Miller, while he tried to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. It turns out he fell in love with cooking and never looked back, moving into a Sous Chef position after just one year and later moving to Chef Miller’s fine dining, farm to table restaurant, L’Etoile. Following his time at L’Etoile, Cory moved to Minneapolis and started working with Chef Gavin Kaysen and his team at Spoon and Stable. Cory worked through every station over the course of three years before moving to Chef Kaysen’s fine dining restaurant, Demi. At Demi, Cory moved into a Sous Chef position and helped lead the team through training and menu development for over three years. Cory lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Destiny, who he met while working at Spoon and Stable, and their two perfect dog children, Franklin and Lucy.

Tyler McLeod, General Manager

A Minneapolis native, Tyler is well known for having the most fun and unique jobs of anyone we’ve ever met. In his early teenage years, Tyler’s first jobs were working on his stepdad’s food truck and frying cheese curds at the MN State Fair. After high school, he started bartending in the Minneapolis warehouse district and ran the floor at Tum Rup Thai, leaving a formative mark on his palate at an early age. As the craft cocktail movement started to develop in the Twin Cities, Tyler’s interest grew and he started gaining experience in fine dining restaurants and bars. With a love of adventure and the outdoors, Tyler moved to Colorado and helped to open Rare Italian, a charming restaurant with a great Italian wine program, where he began to seriously study wine. With a later move to California, he continued to grow his palate and knowledge by experiencing the many wine regions throughout the state. Following his time in California, Tyler moved to Louisville, KY and joined the team at the James Beard nominated 610 Magnolia with chef Edward Lee, where he worked through many positions and into a management role. Upon moving back to Minneapolis, Tyler joined the Soigné Hospitality family as the Assistant General Manager at Bellecour and later as the General Manager at Demi. Most recently, he led the dining programs for the athletes of the MN Timberwolves and MN Wild teams as the Hospitality Director for KZ Provisioning. Tyler lives in Minneapolis with his extremely talented wife, Rachael Cornelius McLeod of Cornelius Pasta, their two young boys, Alexander and Forrest, and their loyal dog Blueberry.

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