Dennis Gutierrez currently serves as Chef De Cuisine at River North’s casual neighborhood restaurant and bar, Kinmont. His first experience in the kitchen started when he was just 19 years old, working a brief, three month stage in the kitchen of Logan Square’s iconic Lula Café. Washing mussels and removing their delicate barnacles, he cleaned over 50 pounds on his first day on the job. It was there he fell in love with the culture and passion involved within the culinary industry. Following his time at Lula, Gutierrez took interest in learning the ropes of the fast-casual realm, working at Rosemont’s Chipotle as a cook, which he attributes time to the development of his basic cooking skills. He was promoted to kitchen manager shortly after, which gave him the ability to fine-tune skills involved with running a small, fast-paced kitchen. Gutierrez then joined the team at Michigan Avenue’s upmarket, American-fare focused, Grand Lux Café in 2013, where he served as a line cook. Following a year spent at Grand Lux, Gutierrez joined the team at Kinmont as a garde manager in 2014, where he manned the cold station in the kitchen, shucking oysters and creating shellfish platters as well as additional dining options. Gutierrez then stepped up to take on the role of Kinmont’s sous chef in March of 2015.