Au Levain Bakery rises at the 100th Monday Night Foodball

by Mike Sula / Chicago Reader / January 11, 2024

Check out Bistro Campagne's Angel Chavez's sweet and savory neoclassical French pastries at the Reader's weekly chef pop-up at Ludlow Liquors.

The late chef Michael Altenberg gave Angel Chavez his first restaurant job, running French classics like soupe à l’oignon and moules meunières from the kitchen to the dining room at Lincoln Square’s Bistro Campagne.

That was 15 years ago, when the chef was still doing his own specials and desserts—until he hired the 18-year-old kid who’d grown up making conchas and orejas in his abuelo’s Mexico City bakery.

Chavez quickly started putting hands in the dough, and Altenberg didn’t hold him back.

“That’s how I learned about being seasonal and local,” says Chavez. “He said, ‘If you want to go to school, you have a job.’ Then, ‘If you ever need anything, we’ll always be here.’ If I ever quit somewhere, he was like, ‘Do you want to pick up shifts here? You’re more than welcome.’” Read more HERE