Meet the Chef

 Meet Chef Brett Agan

Born and raised in Burlington, Vermont, the son of a chef, Brett Agan has always been intimately acquainted with food. While attending the University of Alabama in Huntsville on a hockey scholarship, and unable to travel home for Thanksgiving, Brett was invited to a local plantation for the holiday. “Not only was everything prepared differently from home, but it all came from the plantation we were on! That’s when my view of food really began to evolve.”

From there Brett decided to enroll in the New England Culinary Institute and went on a tour of the country from Boston to Boulder, working under celebrity chefs like Daniel Bruce, Mark Monette and Jon Pell before settling in Michigan with his family.

“We’re so happy to have him!” says Penny Black Owner Jeff DeGrieck. “He brings a level of experience, professionalism and passion that is hard to match in the Rochester area…and he shares our vision of constant evolution. You will see his influence everywhere on the menu.”

You can find Chef Brett in the kitchen quoting Julia Child and making self-deprecating jokes. Along with his sense of humor, Chef Brett brings culinary influences from all over the country and the precision of execution that only a classically-trained Executive Chef can. He says his last meal would have to be New England comfort food, like a Yankee Pot Roast, and he has nothing but disdain for all types of caviar. Penny Black features a weekly menu that is a selection of Chef Brett’s favorite seasonal dishes. Come by and see what is on the menu this week!