Chef Bruce Kalman
Winner, Food Networks' "Chopped" + Esquire Networks' "Knife Fight"
Nominee, "Rising Star Chef", James Beard Foundation Awards
Semi-Finalist, Bravo "Best New Restaurant"
Chef/Owner, Union, Pasadena, CA
Bruce Kalman is the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of UNION in Pasadena, California, which has risen to local and national acclaim since opening in March 2014. A well-seasoned chef known for his commitment to serving soulful, handcrafted cuisine, at Union, Kalman fuses his love of Italian cooking with his passion for seasonal California ingredients.
The New Jersey native worked in celebrated restaurants Okno, Green Dolphin Street and Coco Pazzo in Chicago, before he migrated west to man the stoves at Il Piatto in Santa Fe and Chelsea’s Kitchen in Phoenix. Bruce moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to open the Misfit in Santa Monica, and continued to make a name for himself at The Churchill in West Hollywood. In 2013, Kalman launched his passion project, Bruce’s Prime Pickle Company, a speciality pickle company that uses the best local and sustainable ingredients that California has to offer. Throughout the years, Kalman's culinary chops have garnered him a James Beard nomination for Rising Star Chef, a championship title from the Food Network’s Chopped, as well as a win on Esquire Network’s Knife Fight.
UNION | Pasadena, CA
Since its opening, Union has been coined one of Zagat’s Hottest New Restaurants, one of Time Out Los Angeles’ top openings of 2014, and, most recently, Los Angeles Magazine's #2 best new restaurant pick for 2014, an accolade that was mirrored with Union's appearance on Bravo's "Best New Restaurant" in March 2015.
Chef Kalman curated a basket for June, 2015 that is centered around his commitment to utilizing the highest quality ingredients in creating extraordinary food. Check out the dishes he created for his collaboration below!
