The Good Plate Hospitality Group has promoted Chef John Boudouvas to Corporate Executive Chef after serving as Executive Chef of Nonnina in Chicago’s River North since February 2019. With the promotion, Chef Boudouvas will oversee all culinary operations for the entire company, which includes Nonnina, Petterino’s, Taco Nano and The Happ Inn Bar & Grill. Boudouvas has an extensive, seasoned background with Good Plate and has been with the company since its inception.
“I’m excited for this new opportunity. I get to grow with the company while the company is growing, too,” says Boudouvas, “we have such strong foundations at our restaurants, and my main focus is to tie all four into one happy and solidified group.”
Part of his new role involves the expansion and fine tuning of offerings from Good Plate’s various restaurants. While having a hand in all menus, Boudouvas will particularly focus on adding new offerings to Petterino’s in Chicago’s Loop and Theater District through the remainder of the year.
Combining his classical training with a unique flair, Boudouvas is putting his own touch on classic Petterino’s dishes by infusing different flavors and acids to reinvent them, while also developing new Italian-American dishes for the restaurant. This is showcased on new items from his menu like the Steak Frites — a tender 12 oz skirt steak that incorporates a chimichurri, which acts as an acid to cut into the steak. The chimichurri is used by Boudouvas to avoid adding a garlic butter or compound, which keeps the dish light.
Another exciting new dish brought to the menu is the Truffle Grilled Cheese. Boudouvas describes the dish as, “simple, but it packs a lot of flavor. You really get a bold mushroom flavor when you bite into it. We wanted to play with and stretch the texture, but not lose the composure of the dish. It’s truffle for a reason!”
Boudouvas also plans to add seasonal and approachable American offerings to Petterino’s throughout the year and into next, as can be seen with the addition of a Chicken Pot Pie. His goal is to offer something straightforward and approachable for Chicago diners. Petterino’s Chicken Pot Pie screams the season and features oven roasted chicken, carrots, butternut squash, corn, red onion and sage cream.
Other new dishes include a Kale Salad with roasted butternut squash and a maple syrup dressing, Short Rib featuring slow braised beef short ribs alongside garlic whipped potatoes and Pork Chops — two 8oz pork chops that come grilled and filled with a marsala sauce next to roasted wild mushrooms.
Petterino’s is located at 150 N Dearborn Street in Chicago, and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Reservations are available via OpenTable.
