PYP Talk w/ Bill Fuller – Corporate Chef & Partner of Big Burrito Restaurant Group (Members Only)

Have you ever wondered who the face is behind restaurants such as Mad Mex, Eleven, and Casbah? Who comes up with some of our favorite meals, like the Gobblerito and the Eleven Burger? The answer: The Big Burrito Group and Bill Fuller.

At our final 2018 PYP Talk, you will learn about Bill Fuller and his humble roots, how he first got into cooking, his creativity for coming up with wonderful food creations, and his love for Pittsburgh and food. We will also have appetizers from one of the Big Burrito restaurants.

Bill has been awarded Chef of the Year in 1998 and 2017 and Restaurateur of the Year from Pittsburgh Magazine. This is in addition to sharing in the numerous awards received by the restaurants he oversees. He is dedicated to developing relationships with individual local farmers and Penn's Corner Farm Alliance, publicly speaking on the benefits of locally farmed foods. His ongoing charity efforts include participating in the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and acting as an advisor to the culinary program at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Fuller’s portfolio includes overseeing five specialty restaurants — Eleven Contemporary Kitchen, Casbah Mediterranean Kitchen and Wine Bar, Soba, umi and Kaya — as well as 14 Mad Mex restaurants and a full-service catering operation. Even in an increasingly competitive environment, his restaurants remain in-demand and relevant.

As big Burrito Restaurant Group opened more restaurants throughout the years, Fuller built more cooks. Some of them you may have heard of:
• Justin Severino, executive chef and co-owner of Cure and Morcilla, first worked for Fuller as a culinary intern in 1998.
• Derek Stevens first worked for Fuller in 1999 and ran the kitchen at Eleven for 10 years before opening Union Standard in early 2017.
• Kevin Sousa, owner and head chef of Superior Motors in Braddock, was an executive chef at Kaya and Soba.
• Chad Townsend worked for Fuller and Stevens at Eleven and later for Sousa at Salt of the Earth. Townsend took over that restaurant after Sousa’s departure and now operates Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream.