Gilchrist Farm in Suttons Bay launched a new menu with the help of award-winning chefs Jennifer Jackson and Justin Tootla.
Jackson and Tootla are Detroit-based celebrated chefs that have cooked all over the United States. The powerhouse chef couple are trying their hand on the Leelanau Peninsula as they embark on a new journey with Gilchrist Farm.
“We’ve always tried to find a way to move back up here, but we realized that for what we wanted to do, the environment, the culinary scene hadn’t really caught up yet,” Tootla said. “I think we’re finally at a point where owners and operators are willing to take a risk and cater to different palates and more creative cooks these days than they were.”
Jackson and Tootla have worked at iconic restaurants including Bernardin in NYC and Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California; Eva in Los Angeles, Mission Table in Traverse City; Farm 255 in Athens, Georgia, to name a few.
Tootla spent most of his life coming up north to the family’s Crystal Lake cabin in Beulah.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Tootla spent a couple of summers cooking on the Old Mission Peninsula and fell in love with the area. Once Tootla met Jackson, they packed their bags and cooked all over the country. Tootla is from the Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills area, while Jennifer is from Athens, Georgia.
Gilchrist Farms business manager George Brittain wanted to bring a fresh flare to the restaurant that opened in September 2023 at 417 N St. Joseph Street. Brittain also owns the Anchor Inn in Bingham Township.
“It’s extremely humbling in the best way. They really understand the area, what grows here, the farms that are here ... They have a deep love and apprecia- tion for the people,” Brittain said. “Takes an immense amount of work and an immense amount of just knowledge of cookery ... (Jackson and Tootla) have an ability to grab a recipe from deep in the files of their mind and throw things together, but in a way that celebrates the area, the farmers that grew it and creates a dish that the local people and tourists really appreciate and are approachable to them.”
Brittain added that they have improved the restaurant immensely.
The new menu featured at Gilchrist Farm will have staples that regular diners can find comfort in, while remaining inventive, fresh and local.
Jackson and Tootla will be changing the more seasonal items on the menu quarterly, but you can expect to get things like the Leelanau burger or local northern Michigan Whitefish (or whitefish chowder) year-round. The menu will feature whitefish dip, corn ribs, smoked fish chowder and a variety of main dishes like a BLT, farmer’s cut steak and seared lake trout.
“This (Leelanau burger) is all from the county, we really wanted a sandwich made strictly from ingredients and products from the peninsula. It’s a great boundary to work within,” Jackson said.
They grind their own burger, make their own buns, and supplement vegetables from local farms. Leelanau Cheese is handling all cheese needs at Gilchrist Farm.
“It’s (Tootla’s) recipe, but I perfected it,” Jennifer said and Jackson added. “I have a half ass idea, and she either throws it out the window or she sees it to perfection.”
Jackson and Tootla own multiple restaurants in Detroit’s Eastern Market area. During the height of COVID they were going broke because of the strict COVID restrictions that suffocated many restaurants in the state.
“We weren’t allowed to have a dining room, but our lease was signed and we just thought, what does everybody love? And it’s cheeseburgers,” Jackson said.
They decided to do a burger pop-up in an anonymous fashion with a focus on doing everything from scratch.
“It took off. It did really well,” Tootla said.
Jackson and Tootla do their best work at the 11th hour when it comes to producing top-notch fresh dishes on the menu, especially when changing seasons.
“We have to do something that’s relatable and comfortable, which is also a challenge in itself because we have parameters to work in,” Tootla said.
