Friendship forged over foie gras endures heat of the kitchen

Patrick Chabert had years of experience under his toque when a young Sam Syreggelas walked into the kitchen of Le Francais restaurant in 1999.

French-born Chabert (he hails from Belley, the same town as culinary royal Jean Brillat-Savarin) had worked at the acclaimed Wheeling restaurant for 15 years, when Syreggelas, a 25-year-old culinary school graduate, started working under him.

Syreggelas was no stranger to the restaurant industry - his family owned Mammy's Pancake House on Chicago's Gold Coast - but this was his first taste of the classic French haute cuisine.

Working with Chabert Syreggelas honed his techniques - knife work, sauteing, sauce making - and he learned the importance of high quality products.

"If you have good techniques, those basic things can apply to any kitchen," Syreggelas says.

A lot has happened in the 10 years since the Napoleon-statured Chabert and the strapping Greek Syreggelas worked side-by-side: Chabert left to open (and then close) a French culinary school and now works as corporate chef for Duchossois Industries and cooks for private parties; Syreggelas worked around the suburbs at restaurants including Champs and Walker Brothers.

In 2008 Syreggelas culled what he'd learned from all those culinary influences and opened Hungry? Restaurant, a fast-casual eatery in Rolling Meadows.

"I had the idea in my head of what time of restaurant I wanted to do since before there was even the term 'fast casual,'" he says. "I've been thinking about this since I was 14 years old."

A close look at Hungry?'s menu reveals some surprising Le Francais influences. The fire-roasted veggie sandwich is simply ratatouille on a pita and the double-stuffed portobello sandwich boasts a duxelle stuffing borrowed from classic beef Wellington.

Chabert says Syreggelas (often referred to as 'son') has "re-adapted recipes to what people want now."

"You cannot cook like you did 25 years ago, but when you know the basics, you can make something good," he says.

Syreggelas says it's about "using ingredients in different ways," a lesson he credits Chabert, "Poppy," with teaching him.

"At lunch, I can't serve a filet with Bordelaise, but I can put a skirt steak and red wine sauce on a bun," Syreggelas says.

Though their lives have followed different paths in the past decade, they find themselves reunited in the kitchen, this time the kitchen at Hungry?

In a win-win situation, Chabert rents space at Hungry? where he prepares food for his corporate and private clients, thus generating some income for the business in an industry known for its high failure rate.

The situation allows the two to continue to build their friendship and their businesses, bouncing recipe ideas off each other and pitching in to help the other.

"I want him to succeed," Chabert says.