Bruce Sherman is chef and partner at Lincoln Park’s North Pond Restaurant. The restaurant’s constantly changing menu focuses on using the best local ingredients and keeping the dishes in tune with the seasons.
“It’s not just a job for me; it’s who I am. It’s a life. It’s a driving force.” ~ Bruce Sherman, on being a chef.
Bruce Sherman was groomed to be a doctor or a lawyer. But once Sherman got to the University of Pennsylvania, he had an epiphany. He realized his real passion was for food. He made the decision to pursue food, but still inundated with the idea of professionalism, Sherman entered into restaurant management. He soon realized this was the wrong path. That’s when he started cooking.
Sherman moved from Boston, where he worked in restaurant management, to Washington D.C. There he ran a catering company for six years. His wife’s work then took him to India where he cooked, traveled and developed his culinary skills. After three and a half years, Sherman moved to Paris to refine and complete his culinary education at the Ecole Superieure de Cuisine Francaise. When his yearlong stint in Paris ended in 1999, Sherman moved back to Chicago. He spent two years cooking, most notably in the dining room at the Ritz Carlton, before he started at North Pond Restaurant.
Today Sherman is chef and partner at Lincoln Park’s North Pond Restaurant. His constantly changing menu focuses on using the best local ingredients and keeping the dishes in tune with the seasons. Sherman utilizes American products to create his dishes in the French style of cooking. He presents his food in a simple way that highlights the nature of the ingredients.
Sherman says he doesn’t have a signature dish, but keeping in line with his focus on the ingredients, North Pond’s menu always contains an egg appetizer and a beet salad. Recent variations include a soft boiled hen egg with roasted bell pepper soffrito, Merguez sausage, green olive-almond relish, “tater tots” and chorizo and olive oil braised beets, golden beet hummus, quinoa tabbouleh, charred lemon-Ch?vre jam, brix pastry, socca and harissa.
Sherman feels strongly about supporting local farmers and gathers a significant amount of his ingredients at local farmers’ markets.
“I want to be doing something that extends beyond the fancy food on the plate,” Sherman says. “I find that the best way to do that most effectively in the kitchen is to consider my sources.”
North Pond Restaurant proves to be the perfect setting to showcase Sherman’s emphasis on sustainability. The restaurant is nestled into the side of a hill between a pond on one side and trees and hills on the other. Diners can enjoy Sherman’s cuisine with a view of the Chicago skyline or they can look toward the trees for an escape from the bustling city behind them.
Bruce Sherman was named best new chef by Food and Wine in 2003 and was nominated for a 2007 James Beard Award in the category of Best Chef: Great Lakes. In 2017, North Pond was one of just 25 restaurants to earn a coveted Michelin star for 2018. This was the 5th consecutive year (2014-2018) that it has received that prestigious designation. In 2012, the restaurant was a James Beard Award winner and a 2016 finalist.
North Pond Restaurant
2610 N. Cannon Dr.
Chicago, IL 60614
773.477.5845
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