Tory Miller

Chef Tory grew up working in his grandparents’ diner in Racine, Wisconsin before moving to New York to attend the French Culinary Institute and work his way through some of the cities’ finest kitchens, including Bill Telepan’s Judson Grill and Eleven Madison Park. A true Wisconsinite at heart, he returned to Madison to begin working under his mentor, Odessa Piper, at L’Etoile, where he found his true passion for local food through the Dane County Farmers’ Market.

After taking over L’Etoile in 2005 from Odessa, Tory opened his second restaurant, Graze, in 2010, his third, Sujeo, in 2014, and fourth, Estrellón in 2015, as a way to provide locally-sourced cuisine to a larger audience in the Madisonian dining scene and expand his love for world cuisines.

A 2012 recipient of the James Beard Award Best Chef: Midwest, Tory has strived to strengthen Madison’s food system, local agriculture, and wider community throughout his career by supporting farmers and purchasing local Wisconsin products for all his restaurants, most recently forming the Madison Area Chefs Network to unite Madison’s local chefs for the first time. In 2018, Chef Tory was a contestant on The Food Network’s Iron Chef Showdown, and beat Iron Chef, Bobby Flay, in a battle of meats.