Chef Biography
Randy Waidner always wanted to make his career in the culinary world. In high school he took cooking classes, and after school and on weekends he worked at a gourmet grocery store. He received his initial training at the Palm Beach, a French restaurant in Chicago.
After high school, he attended the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island and throughout college, worked as a sous chef at the Inn at Castle Hill in Newport, Rhode Island.
The Great Chefs television crew were shooting Great Chefs from around the United States for Weber Grills Cookout Specials, from Boston to Seattle and down to the Caribbean. While shooting in Chicago with Great Chefs Rick Bayless, Jean Joho, and Sarah Stegner, the Great Chefs team traveled out to the Weber Grill Restaurant in Wheeling, Illinois to tape Randy Waidner, who had just returned from Johnson & Wales. The crew also returned later to tape Executive Chef Waidner for the Discovery Channel’s Great Chefs of America.
Chef Waidner helped open the second Weber Grill Restaurant in Lombard, Illinois in 1996, then opened their Chicago flagship restaurant in 2002. In 2006, he moved over as Corporate Chef of the Gibson’s Restaurant Group including the Gibson’s Steak House on Chicago’s Gold Coast, where he remains today in 2016
Recipes
Grilled Garlic Herb-crusted Roasted Rack of Venison with Roasted Potatoes and Roasted Baby Vegetables
Serving: 4 Print Grilled Garlic Herb-crusted Roasted Rack of Venison with Roasted Potatoes and Roasted Baby Vegetables By Great Chefs November 18, 2015 All sorts of wonderful flavors mingle in this dish, which combines searing over direct heat and roasting with indirect heat and moisture. You will want to build a substantial fire, as it […]
Ancho Chili Glazed Ostrich with Smoked Onion Relish
Serving: 4 Print Ancho Chili Glazed Ostrich with Smoked Onion Relish By Great Chefs November 18, 2015 Ostrich is truly the “other red meat,” a low-cholesterol poultry that looks and tastes like very lean beef, with fewer calories, lower fat — especially saturated fat — and much lower cholesterol. Once wild, the 250-pound, 7-foot high […]
Grilled Cider-glazed Swordfish with Grilled Shiitake Mushroom Salad
Serving: 4 Print Grilled Cider-glazed Swordfish with Grilled Shiitake Mushroom Salad By Great Chefs November 18, 2015 Apple cider, reduced to a glaze, flavors the salad dressing and grilled swordfish and mushrooms for this lovely salad dish. The watercress and daikon sprouts add their own snap, but it is the glaze that does the trick. […]
Mixed Berry Crisp with Streusel Topping
Serving: 8 Print Mixed Berry Crisp with Streusel Topping By Great Chefs November 18, 2015 When you’ve removed the entrée from the grill, make this dessert and use the heat still left in the fire. The cups of berry crisp will cook under the grill cover as you enjoy your meal. When it’s time for […]
Ancho Chili-glazed Ostrich with Smoked Onion Relish
Serving: 4 Print Ancho Chili-glazed Ostrich with Smoked Onion Relish By Great Chefs October 3, 2015 Ostrich is truly the “other red meat,” a low-cholesterol poultry that looks and tastes like very lean beef, with fewer calories, lower fat — especially saturated fat — and much lower cholesterol. Once wild, the 250-pound, 7-foot high ostrich […]