Chef opens restaurant in Oak Brook called B.

When Chef Sean Patrick Curry set out to open a second restaurant inside the Oak Brook Hills Resort, he wanted to name it Butcher, Baker and Beekeeper.

After all, he is all three.

But the owner, Portfolio Hotels & Resorts in Westmont, mentioned other possibilities. Soon, the letter B became the common theme - be fresh, be seasonal and more.

So the restaurant is called B. and it opened in July at the resort at 3500 Midwest Road. A formal ribbon cutting likely will take place soon, he said.

B. is a 167-seat restaurant that features the Chef's Garden, a patisserie, a bourbon-focused lounge and an on-site honey harvesting program aimed at raising awareness for declining honeybees. A wide selection of local, fresh and seasonal flavors is handcrafted to create simple food with depth, or what Curry calls "modern farm cuisine." The modern refers to contemporary, artistically plated dishes. The farm cuisine is the connection between the food and the people behind it.

"This is for my kids because I wanted to show them their dad cares about their futures and since I won't become president, I can still make this contribution. We can be seasonably responsible and locally grown and help out our own neighbors," Curry said.

B. is Curry's second restaurant. The other is Tin Cup, also inside the Oak Brook Hills Resort, that's more like a gastro pub, he said.

Contributing farms to the B. table include Heritage Prairie Farms in Elburn and Local Foods and Great American Cheese in Chicago.

"I can look at all the guests and tell them I know where their food came from," Curry said. "I know these farms. I've had their soil in my hands."