Oak & Reel to host nationally known chefs in Detroit for Culinary Collective dinner series

Local diners can taste the talents of three nationally known chefs in Detroit this year at Oak & Reel's Culinary Collective dinner series.

The modern, award-winning restaurant in the Milwaukee Junction area at East Grand Boulevard and Beaubien will host Hemant Mathur, the first Indian chef in the United States to earn a Michelin star in April. Acclaimed Chicago chef Erik Anderson will visit in June and the long-awaited return of Birmingham-bred chef Anita Lo comes in September.

Oak & Reel's chef Jared Gadbaw bringing in these accoladed chefs is a rare treat for those familiar with the national, and even international, food scene. Events like these is part of why Gadbaw's return to Detroit made headlines in late 2019 when it was announced he would leave New York City and open a restaurant in his hometown.

The Michigan State University alum and graduate of NYC's French Culinary Institute has cooked in James Beard Award-winning and Michelin-starred restaurants there including Alto and Marea. At Marea, he earned and maintained a two-star Michelin rating for nine years, no easy feat. (France-based Michelin — which awards restaurants one, two or three stars — currently does not include Michigan in their yearly guide.)

Gadbaw, a Garden City native, returned to Metro Detroit after gaining culinary chops working in some of the most impressive restaurants in the world, and opened Oak & Reel in 2020. With a focus on seafood, Italian and wood-fired cooking, the restaurant was named one of The Detroit News' best new restaurants of 2020 and was Restaurant of the Year in Hour Detroit in 2022.

"We're kicking it off with Hamant Mathur, he is a gentlemen, a very well-traveled and experienced Indian chef who kind of made a name for himself in New York in the middle 2000s when Michelin starred there and he earned a star for two different restaurants and was the first Indian chef to do so in North American," Gadbaw told The Detroit News.

Called the "Yo-Yo Ma of tandoori cooking," Mathur has three decades of experience in the restaurant industry and is credited with changing the way diners view Indian food in New York City and elsewhere in the United States.

"He's just this OG chef that probably doesn't get the recognition (he deserves) outside of the Indian community, so I thought it would be cool to bring him in and showcase his skills as kind of a senior statesmen in the realm of cooking," said Gadbaw, who specializes in Italian cuisine. "And, for us, as a group, to learn a little bit more about a cuisine that is generally daunting and the complete opposite of the spectrum from Italian, you know, all the spices that are used. It's just not something that's in my wheelhouse, nor anything that my staff is accustomed to. So we're really excited to have him come in."

This year's series big get, however, is possibly the triumphant return of Anita Lo. The Detroit-born chef and cookbook author has had a fantastic career since leaving Birmingham to study French at Columbia University, and later culinary school in Paris.

Lo has opened and helmed handfuls of restaurants in New York City, earning Michelin stars and "best chef" awards. She's competed on "Iron Chef" and "Top Chef Masters," and in 2015 was the first female guest chef to cook a state dinner at the White House, preparing a four-course meal for President Barack Obama and visiting Chinese president Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.

When he first entered the world of fine dining, Gadbaw said her New York restaurant Annisa had a lasting effect on him.

"I can still remember vividly some of the dishes and the dining room and how excited I was about it," he said. "She's also excited about it. She's like, man, I haven't been to that area in probably 20-30 years."

Lo will present a multi-course meal with chef Gadbaw and the team at Oak & Reel Sept. 26-27. Tickets will go on sale this summer.

Before that, Oak & Reel will welcome James Beard-nominated chef Erik Anderson for a pair of dinners June 6 and 7.

The Chicago-bred chef started in his parent's restaurants and has worked all over the country and the globe, including staging at the world-famous Noma restaurant in Copenhagen. The last time he was in Detroit, however, was probably with a bus full of musicians.

"He used to tour bands before he got into cooking," said Gadbaw. "He's like, yeah I used to hang out in Detroit and take bands to Saint Andrew's, so he's very excited about coming back. He's got a project that they're going to break ground on some time this year in California so he's like, I got a year to do things and he was so enthusiastic about the opportunity to come and cook in Detroit."

But first, Mathur kicks off the series April 11 and 12. Tickets are are $323 per person ($250 plus gratuity, taxes and fees) and are on sale now.

The Culinary Collective experience with chef Mathur include six or seven courses plus beverage pairings with alcoholic or nonalcoholic options. While the dinners in this series last year had no vegetarian option, the Mathur dinner will be the first that does. Still, it's a set menu without any substations available; diners buy the ticket and take the ride.

A portion of the ticket price will go toward another focus of this series, a local charity partner. The inaugural 2023 Culinary Collective experience — which featured Gadbaw’s mentor and friend, award-winning restauranteur and chef Michael White, New York City chef Erik Ramirez and chefs Michael Galina and Aaron Martinez from award-winning St. Louis restaurant Vicia — raised $10,000 for Forgotten Harvest and the Dynami Foundation.

Gadbaw said for this year's series, he'd like out-of-school kids' program Downtown Boxing Gym to be one of the community partners.

"I just get such a good feeling when I go there," he said, adding his wife works with the nonprofit as well, and he recently judged a kids' cooking competition at the center. He said he'll also work with the visiting chefs to choose additional fundraising partners, and he's looking for companies to sponsor the series so more can be donated to charity.

Melody Baetens is The Detroit News restaurant critic

mbaetens@detroitnews.com