Chef’s Corner

Chef Charles Lazzareschi, named Best Local Chef by the Madison Magazine Reader Poll, was born and raised in the San Francisco restaurant scene, starting at an early age helping in his father’s Italian restaurant. He attended the California Culinary Academy, where he developed a passion for preparing fine cuisine, and began his career in high-end restaurants in San Francisco. There, he discovered the importance of fresh, high-quality ingredients. Eventually, Chef Charles found his true culinary home in the kitchens of fine hotels, including five years as the Executive Chef at the Embassy Suites in Denver, Colorado.

Grateful to be located in an area so rich with organic farms and dairies, Chef Charles feels privileged to be part of a sustainable food system in Wisconsin. He is deeply commited to using seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients and lets the components of each dish speak for themselves, choosing sauces and seasonings that enhance, not overpower, the flavor and integrity of every bite.

Charles manages the day-to-day food and beverage operations of the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club, including banquet functions and, of course, the Dayton Street Grille. He was the winner of the 2008 Madison Food & Wine Show’s Dueling Chefs Competition, making the Dayton Street Grille the only restaurant in Madison to boast back-t0-back champions of this prestigious competition.