Valeria Benner Influences Lockwood

New sous chef brings sustainable cuisine to Palmer House

Sometimes, a door needs to close for an even better one to open. That was the case for Chef Valeria Benner, who moved to Chicago in June 2008 to accept the sous and event chef position at The Pump Room in Ambassador East Hotel. But less than a year after her promotion to head chef and food and beverage director, The Pump Room shut down their food and beverage department. It wasn’t long after her decision to slow down and take a break from the fast-moving life of a chef that she would start a whole new chapter in her career.

In January 2011, while sipping a cocktail and admiring the Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas, Chef Benner got a call from a friend who had found the perfect job for her. She sent her resume from her phone at that very moment, and, two weeks later, interviewed at Lockwood at The Palmer House Hilton. Immediately after the panel of food and beverage department executives tasted her food, she was offered the position of sous chef under Executive Chef Greg Elliot, who says it was an instant fit.

Chef Benner’s early food expeditions were more humble. As the oldest of five children with two working parents, she spent ample time cooking for her family while growing up. Her childhood on Dairy Air Acres in Merrill, Michigan, and Storybook Farm in Harvard, Illinois, where she lived until she was 18, laid the groundwork for an appreciation of fresh, local ingredients that would come into vogue later in her career.

And while Chef Benner initially never seriously considered a long-term food career– her first professional kitchen job was “salad girl” at a hotel – she soon realized it was an art. “It’s an art I can do, that I’m good at, that’s always changing,” she says. “That’s what got me started in the professional end.”

Chef Benner attended Johnson and Wales Culinary Institute in Providence, Rhode Island, receiving her Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts, specializing in sustainable, seasonal and local cuisine, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Business. She went on to work at The American Club in Kohler, Wisconsin, and Fresco at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art in Madison, Wisconsin, before settling in Chicago.

Throughout her training and career, she maintained her “farm girl” belief in working with the freshest ingredients from farmers markets, as well as providing comfort in a meal. “At the end of the day, her style is ingredient-driven, farm-to-table,” Chef Elliot observes.

And with a love for locally sourced ingredients and gardening, what more could a chef want than a garden just upstairs from her restaurant? The previously unused space on the hotel’s roof has been transformed into a garden full of fresh herbs and vegetables under Chef Benner’s direction.

In fact, one of the first things Chef Elliot asked Chef Benner was whether she’d be interested in creating a roof garden at Lockwood. He came to Chicago from Napa Valley, California, where many restaurants grow their own produce and he “caught the bug.”

“I felt like a kid at Christmas,” Chef Benner says. “It doesn’t get more local than going up to the 25th floor, picking herbs at 4:30pm and having them on the plate by 5:00pm. It’s spectacular.”

The feedback has been better than they could have expected.

“People can taste the difference between something just picked, never refrigerated, only lightly washed and put on a plate – and wasn’t sprayed with chemicals,” Chef Benner explains. “Yes, we have a beautiful setting, but people are actually coming for the food.”

Deanne Kelly, the food and beverage director at Lockwood, had a hand in hiring Chef Benner, noting that her passion for food quality and making sure guests are more than pleased with their experience is one of the biggest things that stood out about her.

“She takes control of the situation,” she says. “She’s just overall a very positive and happy person,” she says.

“She’s just been an incredible addition to the team. She’s smart, she’s a step ahead of the game, she’s a hard worker, she’s tough,” Chef Elliot explains, “which you have to be whether you’re a guy or a girl in this business, but more so as a girl. It’s in her blood. She has the chops to get it done.”