"There's been a few musicians that have given us a shout out on stage. Mark Knopfler's band had a blog and said it's been the best food they've had in the U.S."
-Kevin Sloan, Executive Chef for Riverside/Pabst/TurnerHallBallroom
In the mid 1990's, Kevin Sloan returned to his hometown of Milwaukee after getting his
Culinary Degree in New Mexico. He cooked with some of the best know Milwaukee Chefs for a year at Lake Park Bistro and at Sanford for another three. He opened up a few restaurants of his own, The Social and Sol Fire. During that time, he had some well known musicians come into his restaurant. "They were very high maintenance and not very fun to cook for," says Sloan.
He was hesitant when the opportunity came up to be the Executive Chef for the Riverside/Pabst/Turner group of concert venues. After cooking for a few bands, he found out his experience was much different this time around, and had stayed on cooking, ever since.
During his close to four years of cooking at The Riverside, it seems like he's found his niche. With a great team to work with in the kitchen, Lou Lou, Paul Zerkel and Julie Thoreson, they hand design each menu to fit the needs of the artist. Sloan says "That's one fun thing about it, I get to explore every part of the world food wise, and the musicians really seem to dig it." He adds, "We always try to give a little slice of Wisconsin." Using a good amount of organic and locally grown food, the kitchen
crew at The Riverside cook with a nod to Milwaukee's Old World Cuisine.
And by putting extra love into the menu for guests of the Riverside/Pabst/Turner, they hope to fuel up the performers so they can in turn, go out and do their best for the audience that comes to see them.
Information about Riverside/Pabst/Turner is found online here.