12 | NOVEMBER 28 • 2024 

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to Detroit because we have a rich 
history of fine dining with French 
techniques,” Grosz said. “At Cuisine, 
you’ll see items on the menu that have 
techniques that date back hundreds of 
years. I use contemporary ingredients 
and flavor combinations with these 
treasured techniques.”
Chef Mary Brady of Diamond Jim 
Brady Bistro in Novi said, “American 
chef Julia Child, who I had the plea-
sure of meeting, was an inspiration to 
me. She taught us French cooking, in 
an approachable style.” 
Brady was the second woman in 
the state of Michigan to become a 
Certified Executive Chef through the 
American Culinary Federation (ACF). 
Now, she mentors other woman chefs.
When Schmidt traveled to France, 
he “fell in love with food and wine,” 
taking classes with Madeleine 
Kamman at University of Aix en 
Provence. He followed Kamman (“my 
cooking mother”) to a Boston restau-
rant. 
The London Chop House, a land-
mark restaurant in Downtown Detroit 
for decades, is where Schmidt landed 
his first job as an executive chef. 
“It was a vibrant economy, and 
executives lived life well — it was the 
three-martini era,” recalled Schmidt, 
who provided a lot of history for the 
film. “People were spending $80-$100 
for lunch between 1977-85 at The 
Chop.” 
After a much-honored cooking 
career, Schmidt does pop-up din-
ners with his wife, and he recently 
launched a company that develops the 
technology for creating new products 
to boost food nutrition. 

THE CORE OF THE FILM
Famie said the core of his film is 
remembering “the early immigrant 
chefs who brought with them from 
their homelands their style of cooking, 
as well as a professional, highly inten-
sive expectation of kitchen leadership.” 
Certified Master Chef Milos Cielka 
in the film was the chef-partner at 
the late, great Golden Mushroom in 

Certified Executive Chef Paul Grosz with staff at Cuisine

Chef Jimmy Schmidt of 
the former Rattlesnake 
Club

An array of chefs: Greg Upsure, Keith Famie, 
Steve Allen, Milos Cielka and Brian Polcyn.

Chef Takashi 
Yagihashi of 
the former 
Tribute 
restaurant

Certified Master Chef 
Milos Cielka

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OUR COMMUNITY
ON THE COVER