Yes, Chef! Feature: Andrew Bower

As Executive Chef of a flourishing restaurant group known for its eclectic menus and cleverly curated concepts, Chef Andrew Bower is like a master juggler spinning plates on sticks.

Growing up in Cleveland Heights and attending Saint Ignatius High School and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Florida exposed him to a colorful smattering of cultures. And he soaked it all in.

Over the past 15 years, he’s been one of several visionaries instrumental in turning the Ohio City neighborhood into one of the hottest brewing and dining destinations in Cleveland. 

Though he’s from a family of musicians, and still plays guitar and belts out show tunes in the kitchen, as soon as he walked into his first job at Tommy’s on Coventry at age 15—he was hooked.

Q. Looking back on your career, is there anything in particular that makes you proud? 

Honestly, it’s been great to help people who came from unfortunate circumstances raise themselves up to have better lives, to find their passion and follow it. Over the years I’ve worked with team members who began as dishwashers and went onto become sous chefs. 

Q. What’s the best meal you’ve ever experienced?

 I went to New York City for a chef conference and enjoyed a 13-course tasting menu at Blue Hill in Greenwich Village. With every bite, you could taste how much care and attention went into the dishes.

Q. What’s your favorite dish on your menu and why? 

The 6-minute soft-boiled Scotch Eggs at Market Garden Brewery are a labor of love. Over the years we’ve gotten the consistency just right. Wrapping them in roasted garlic sausage before breading and frying them can be difficult. And it is special to me to serve alongside them my great-grandmother’s recipe for bread and butter pickles. She was a cook in the steelyards, and my father found her old composition notebook of recipes. Being able to bring them back to life is pretty cool. 

Q. To garnish or not to garnish? 

It depends on the dish, but I lean toward garnishing with a variety of complementary and complex flavors, for instance with our Chipotle Maple Chicken Wings, since the sauce is sweet and spicy, we garnish with Ohio maple syrup, chipotle peppers, sesame seeds, fried shallots, cilantro and scallions. 

Q. What music do you listen to when you’re working? 

Literally every kind of music. One day the staff came in and found me singing along to old Broadway show tunes like “Man of la Mancha.” Not a single person judged me, thank god. I also like to sing along to Frank Sinatra in his Rat Pack days.

To nominate a chef for Mimi’s “Yes, Chef!” column, please email Mimi@MimiVanderhaven.com. Market Garden Brewery, Nano Brew, Clandestina and Bright Side, are all located on West 25th Street in Ohio City. Visit MarketGardenBrewery.com, NanoBrewCleveland.com, Clandestina.bar and BrightSideCLE.com for more information.