MAX’s Wine Dive Announces Jessica Brumleve as Executive Chef

Kristin Irwin also joins as Wine Sales Manager, completing the all female management team

MAX’s Wine Dive is pleased to announce Jessica Brumleve as Executive Chef of the highly anticipated gourmet comfort food and wine-focused restaurant opening in Wicker Park this May. With more than 14 years in the hospitality industry, Brumleve has worked at top-rated restaurants in Chicago and places a focus on farm-to-table cooking, seasonal dishes and eco-friendly preparations.

Chef Brumleve was Senior Sous Chef for three years at Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse in Chicago and played a vital role in the restaurant’s success; during her time there, it was rated one of Chicago’s top 10 steakhouses by Crain’s Chicago Business. Previously, she spent time at Atwood Café and Everest Restaurant, which was rated second best in Chicago in 2004 by Chicago Magazine during her tenure.

Chef Brumleve’s side of the menu will be unique to the Wicker Park location featuring locally inspired, seasonal dishes including fried brie cheese, panko crusted brie cheese, chipotle-raspberry coulis, cilantro salad and toasted baguette;Taleggio garlic bread, Taleggio garlic butter, house marinated olives, tomato relish and parmesan; and Texas sheet cake, sour cream chocolate cake, chocolate ganache, candied pecans and caramel.

Brumleve’s seasonal dishes will complement the restaurant’s signature Wine Dive Classics including Nacho Mama’s Oysters, fried Gulf Coast oysters with garlic aioli on crispy Wine Dive wonton “chips,” habanero salsa and cilantro; Pan Borracho (“drunk bread”), torn sourdough baguette, prosciutto and fresh thyme soaked in a savory white wine custard baked with Gruyère, provolone and Parmigiano-Reggiano; and The Famous Southern Fried Chicken, jalapeño-buttermilk marinated, deep fried slow and low, served with mashed potatoes, collard greens and Texas toast (a gluten-friendly version is also available).

Kristin Irwin also joins the MAX’s Wine Dive team as the restaurant’s Wine Sales Manager. Irwin began with MAX’s Wine Dive in 2012 in Dallas and brings more than 11 years of hospitality experience to the Chicago location. As a graduate of the Lasco Enterprises “Wine University” program, an intensive company-created wine and service training class, Irwin is both knowledgeable and passionate for all things food and wine.

MAX’s Wine Dive, scheduled to open mid-May at 1482 N. Milwaukee Ave., combines gourmet, chef-driven comfort food with wines from around the world. For more information, please visit www.maxswinedive.com or find them on Facebook and Twitter @MWDChicago.

About MAX’s Wine Dive

MAX’s Wine Dive is famous for bringing “gourmet comfort food” to guests alongside an expertly curated selection of wines from around the world, some of which cannot be found anywhere else, all served in a casual, rock-n-roll atmosphere. For more than seven years, the MAX’s Wine Dive concept has garnered numerous accolades and awards including Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “The Nation’s 10 Best Brunches” in 2013, Travel + Leisure’s “Best Wine Bars” in 2012, OpenTable Diner’s Choice for “Top 100 Brunch Restaurants in the U.S.,” and Southern Living Magazine’s “The South’s Best Fried Chicken.” MAX’s chefs have appeared on Food Network, the Cooking Channel, and a multitude of local networks. Most recently, Nation’s Restaurant News named MAX’s Wine Dive one of the country’s “50 Breakout Brands” as well as one of five “2013 Hot Concepts” in the United States.