Chef of the Week: Alan Mileykovsky of Next Restaurant, Chicago

1. This year’s arc—Past (Alinea Year 1) → Present (Tribute to Massimo Bottura) → Future (Space)—asks diners to time-travel in one restaurant. How do you make each chapter feel distinct while keeping a coherent Next identity?

For us, the through-line is curiosity. Each chapter has its own design language—Alinea Year 1 was precise and idea-driven, Bottura is emotional and rooted in memory. Space is about wonder: the vast unknown, unseen forces, the feeling of staring up at the sky and realizing how small we are. They’re different chapters, but the food still feels like Next: detailed, thoughtful, and always chasing that sense of discovery you can’t get anywhere else.

2. For the Massimo Bottura Tribute, what’s one dish where you honored “Tradition in Evolution” yet made a choice Bottura wouldn’t—on purpose?

Our Tortelloni Drowning in Broth was my twist on Bottura’s Tortellini Walking on Broth. Traditionally, tons of tiny tortellini are served in a big bowl of broth. Massimo flipped that by serving just six on a thin sheet of gelled broth. I decided to flip it again—one oversized tortelloni, with an untraditional filling, submerged in way too much broth (tortelloni are not traditionally served in broth).

To them, what I proposed was basically sacrilege. But that’s when I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

When I described it to his team, they kind of froze. One of them reminded me of a Modenese saying: “If you don’t believe in tortellini, then you don’t believe in God.” To them, what I proposed was basically sacrilege. But that’s when I knew I was exactly where I needed to be—because pushing against tradition, while still honoring it, is the purest way to stay in the spirit of Massimo.

3. Re-creating Alinea Year 1: what surprised you most when reverse-engineering those early Alinea ideas for today’s palate and kitchen tech?

Honestly, how fresh it still feels. You’d think techniques from 2005 might feel dated, but a lot of it holds up. The challenge was more about restraint—today we have so much more equipment, more ways to execute—but the original dishes didn’t need it. Sometimes the original version is still the most powerful.

4. Looking ahead to the Future/Space chapter, how do you balance spectacle with deliciousness so that theater never outruns taste?

For me, the process usually starts with both flavors and concept at the same time. I’m constantly exploring food ideas and thinking about how they can be expressed within the story we’re telling. Every detail matters—textures, temperature, pacing—and the presentation or conceptual elements are there to enhance the bite.

But if it’s not craveable, the whole thing falls apart. The goal is always a dish that makes sense in the story and makes you want another bite.

5. You oversee culinary across Next, The Aviary, and The Office. How does working so closely with world-class beverage teams feed back into menu conception and pacing at Next?

Inspiration comes from everywhere, but having a beverage team with that kind of endless knowledge base adds another layer you can’t get on your own. They’ll pull in spirits, flavors, or techniques I’d never think to reach for, and suddenly it sparks a dish. Other times, a dish I’m working on pushes them to create something new in a glass. It’s a constant back-and-forth. What I love most is that it never stops—every conversation is a chance to learn something and fold it back into the food.

6. When a concept pivots every few months, what metrics tell you it’s resonating (beyond press)?

7. Guest education is half the fun at Next. How do you brief the team to tell the story of a menu without over-explaining on the floor?

It’s a real collaboration between me and our GM, Kate Lang. I spend a lot of time thinking through concepts, making connections, and exploring ideas—sometimes a little off the beaten path. Kate takes those threads and translates them into a narrative that really resonates with guests. After many conversations and iterations, we land on a clear story that the staff can bring to life thoughtfully, keeping service warm, engaging, and natural—so guests leave with the story without ever feeling like they sat through a lecture.

8. Chicago keeps sharpening its edge. What does the city demand of you right now that it didn’t five years ago?

Chicago diners are incredibly savvy right now. They’re adventurous, but also want sincerity—they can tell when something’s gimmicky. Five years ago, you could wow people just with technique. Today, it has to taste amazing and have a reason for existing. That’s a higher bar, but I think it makes us all better.

9. Mentorship moment: one habit you picked up from Grant Achatz/Alinea Group that your cooks will still be using a decade from now.

Never stop learning. Chef Grant is constantly in a process of discovery—not just with ingredients or techniques, but in how to make every dish resonate, surprise, and evoke emotion at the table. When we have the chance to meet, we often fall down the “what if” rabbit hole, exploring ideas and possibilities with no limits.

That relentless curiosity pushes the envelope and sets a standard for creativity that spreads through the whole team, and watching him always ask “what if” makes it impossible for the rest of us not to keep pushing ourselves, too.

10. For home cooks: what’s one technique or habit (no special gear) that instantly elevates a weeknight dish?

11. After a long service, what’s your go-to comfort food—and is there a story behind it?

After tasting all day, I want the opposite of indulgence. My fiancée, Jessica and I usually meal-prep simple stuff—sautéed veggies, ground turkey, sweet potatoes. It’s quick, it’s healthy, it feels good to eat. Honestly, it’s less about the food itself and more about the ritual of coming home and resetting.

12. Favorite place to eat in Chicago right now (outside the Alinea Group), and what about that spot speaks to your palate?

That’s a tough question—Chicago has so much incredible food to offer, so I’ll mention a few favorites from recent memory. Avec has always been solid—great food, great wine, and that kind of energy where you lose track of time passing plates around with friends. Dell Rooster is another favorite: straightforward, soulful cooking—no tricks, no fluff. Their coconut shrimp is still rattling around in my head weeks later. And for something a little outside the city, Samarkand Cafe in the suburbs is incredible—authentic Uzbek food you can’t find at that level of quality anywhere around, besides an Uzbek mom’s kitchen.

Chef Alan Mileykovsky | Instagram
Next, Chicago
953 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL
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