Garrett Lipar

Torino

Garrett Lipar grew up in Waterford, Michigan enjoying and respecting the seasons we have here. He spent countless hours in his grandparents vast garden, growing, tasting, canning and pickling everything he could. At 14 years old, Garrett got a job in a kitchen doing dishes. Before long, he fell in love with the industry and all aspects of it, eventually working his way up to line cook and soon thereafter heading to Scottsdale Culinary Institute. Immediately after finishing school, he received an internship at Public Restaurant in New York City where, under Chef Brad Farmerie, he was exposed to professional cooking and the fundamentals of “balanced cuisine.” He soon worked his way to the top of the NYC flagship restaurant, eventually joining the team at BOKA in Chicago. This resulted in a furthered education in playful flavor combinations and creating custom tasting menus. During his time at both aforementioned restaurants, he “staged” as often as he could in order to absorb as much information as possible, including Alinea in Chicago, being his most influential. However, Garrett credits his move to Scandanavia and the travel and taste that came with it to be, “the biggest part of our style.” He attributes it to his time at Restaurant Frantzen in Stockholm, Sweden. He has run the helm at Torino since February 2013 and lives in Ferndale MI.