A true Midwesterner, Chef Jason Gorman was born and raised in Chicago. At an early age his family relocated to Atlanta, where the southern hospitality he experienced had a significant impact on his future style of cooking. His mother's Italian heritage and love of "Big Night" family dinner events showed him how food can be celebrated. This eventually led him to work in some fantastic restaurants including NAVA in Atlanta and both The Grape and Aquaknox in Dallas.
Although Jason is self-taught, he gives a lot of credit to the chefs he studied under, such as Russian chef Arkady Mirestky, celebrity chef Kevin Rathbun and the founding father of Southwestern cuisine, Stephan Pyles. Their influences helped Jason define his own style and hone his passion. These excellent learning experiences led Jason to be recruited during a nationwide search to head up the kitchen at Potawatomi Bingo Casino's four-star, four-diamond, fine-dining restaurant Dream Dance.
Since joining Dream Dance, Chef Jason further elevated the restaurant's impeccable reputation on a local and national scale. Dream Dance has received AAA's Four Diamond award and the DiRoNA (Distinguished Restaurants of North America) Award from 2004 to 2007. In 2006, Jason received Sante magazine's Most Innovative Cuisine Award for the Midwest region. Local publications rave about Chef Jason's cuisine, as well. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel restaurant critic Dennis Getto awarded Dream Dance with its highest rating - 4 stars - and said, "Chef Jason is cooking the freshest and most creative cuisine in the city." Furthermore, The Shepherd Express nominated him as the best chef in the city. Recently, The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., wrote "Dream Dance chef Jason Gorman may be the state's best culinary artist, creating cuisine in a most unlikely location that puts Wisconsin on the national culinary map."
Dream Dance's seasonal menu features Jason's progressive style of cooking - a balance of innovation, comfort, bold flavors and fresh ingredients. His mission is to provide a cuisine that celebrates the history of Wisconsin. He proudly refers to it as "New Wisconsin Cuisine." Jason supports local farmers and his inspirations have created incredible dishes such as "Lobsterwurst," Alaskan King Crab Golabki, Struass Veal Bierochen and Sprecher Root Beer Venison.
Jason resides in Milwaukee with his wife Jennifer and his best creation, their first child Emelia Rose. In his spare time, Jason enjoys reading old Wisconsin cookbooks, going to movies, dining out and playing guitar. Jason humbly admits he first dreamt of being a rock star.