Earlier this week, Ohio City's Heart of Gold announced veteran head chef Adam Bauer passing the torch on to another beloved Cleveland culinarian, Joe Zegarac.
"It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dear friend and back of house leader, chef Adam Bauer who accepted an exciting new position with the Huntington Convention Center," read the heartfelt Instagram post. "Chef Bauer opened Heart of Gold and with the help of our amazing kitchen staff is responsible for everything we have accomplished in the last two years. His fingerprints will undoubtedly remain on our menu and what we do for years to come."
Under Bauer's tutelage, the restaurant earned recognition as one of Cleveland Magazine's 10 Best New Restaurants.
Outgoing chef Adam Bauer. (Courtesy Heart of Gold)
Zegrac is probably best known for launching Chow Chow Kitchen, which later merged with Parkview Nite Club, in 2015. In 2021, he launched a food consulting and contracted cook service with a list of clients that included his new home, Heart of Gold. With this new endeavor, he plans to build upon Bauer's menu by keeping beloved favorites like the Obligatory Chicken Sandwich and Smash Burger as well as adding his own touches, including a Euro-fusion sammie this spring.
We spoke with Zegarac to hear some of his past highlights and future aspirations in regards to his new role.
Cleveland Magazine: You've spent the past two years collaborating with Heart of Gold in some manner or another — perhaps most notably through food production curation for the restaurant’s launching in the summer and fall of 2021. Could you describe that process, and your initial feelings at the start?
Joe Zegarac: Yeah, of course. I originally was a huge fan of The Plum, which was the restaurant concept that Jonah [Oryszak] had before Heart of Gold's launch. I came in there to eat a lot of nights after leaving Parkview to just grab dinner for myself and became friends with Jonah and the previous chef, Brett Sawyer. So, I already had a history of what Jonah could accomplish running a restaurant. Then over the pandemic, I changed course and was just looking for something new after leaving the partnership with the Parkview nightclub, and Jonah was looking for help to launch Heart of Gold. I reached out to him and then got into contact with the chef, Adam Bauer. We collaborated and I assisted them with curating menus, sourcing ingredients and just helping with that restaurant launch in the summer of ‘21. Basically, I stayed with them for about five or six months, and then at the start of 2022, I began my own food consulting and contract cook service and Heart of Gold became one of my clients.
CM: Although becoming the head chef for Heart of Gold is a new appointment, being the frontman for a popular eatery in Cleveland is far from new for you. Could you describe some of your most valued lessons learned over your career in this industry so far?
JZ: Yeah, I feel like attention to detail is just something you need to keep focused on, no matter what, and also, I mean, just trying to keep a positive work environment for the staff. Cleveland is [also] very diverse with their food scene, and just trying to [create] food that stands out can be difficult…I feel like if you put the time into dishes, they can really come out great.
CM: Switching gears slightly. I'd love to ask what you are most excited for in regards to officially taking on this new role?
JZ: Definitely the future with Heart of Gold. I've remained a huge fan, even after helping them with the launch in 2021, and I do plan to keep everything that Adam Bauer has put into the food production here. I want to keep highlighting that, but also I want to bring some of my flair to it. I have a lot of experience with Americanized Eastern European fare from my Chow Chow Kitchen days and Southern American cuisine, so I'm definitely going to mix those two features in, and let the thriving business parallel where I plan to take it.
CM: I'd love to get back to that in just a moment actually, but I have to ask: any fears, or worries that are keeping you up at night? Does a seasoned chef still get first day jitters?
JZ: Honestly, I'm almost 20 years into being in commercial kitchens, so this time I did not feel the jitters, but definitely in my past I did, like in 2015 launching Chow Chow kitchen. I feel like I was definitely in over my head, but it was just great lessons learned, and a lot of the failures that I endured in that time, I learned from, and they definitely shaped who I am today as a chef.
CM: Jumping back a little bit to your last response: In the IG post Heart of Gold posted yesterday soft launching your welcome, it noted how you are dedicated to keeping chef Adam Bauer's theme of elevated offerings alive and well, while pushing the boundaries around HOG's concept, which leads me to my last closing questions about the impact that Adam Bauer has had on Heart of Gold. I would love to know your takeaways on that [time], and then what goals you have for making the space your own in this new year.
JZ: Yeah, so, concerning Adam Bauer, I just feel like he is a very clever chef, especially with the concept that Heart of Gold started out with, you know, just bringing elevated offerings available within a short period of wait time. I feel like it's a theme that has caught a lot of fire just over the last few years in the country, and he did a great job the last two years with what he accomplished in Heart of Gold. They just have a few staple sandwiches, sides and entrees on the menu that have just proven successful, so I definitely plan to keep those going strong. Also with the seasonal changes, we're going to see some different things happening. Some old menu items popping up here and there that were some fan favorites.
CM: Great! I know I said that was my last question, but I have to ask: what is the first dish that comes to mind that you're dying to get your hands on?
JZ: Do you mean something that is already established on the menu, or something that we would be putting on the menu?
CM: Oh, I'm definitely breaking that down into two questions since you opened up the floor on that. Now you have to give me both responses.
JZ: Sure. I feel like the obligatory fried chicken sandwich on the menu is just phenomenal. I mean I've had, man, my fair share of fried chicken, and it's still just one of my favorites throughout the city — especially on the Leavened bun. I just feel like the (Tremont) bakery has done so much in the short couple years that they've been open, and it's just very impressive. Looking forward, I'm very excited for spring. I mean, I know we're a couple days into it already, even though we just saw a ton of snow, but just the products that become available in Northeast Ohio throughout spring and summer are great. We plan to do a lot with tomatoes and with corn, but focusing back on your question: I love Italian sandwiches, and I'm very excited to kind of put my spin on something here. And I kind of want to do a crossover of, like, a Muffaletta and an Italian sandwich.
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