Brian Lockwood is the chef-partner of Gingie and Midōsuji, two Chicago restaurants he opened with Boka Restaurant Group. At Gingie in River North, his à la carte menu draws on classical French technique, Japanese ingredients, and Midwestern comfort food. Midōsuji, an intimate counter inside the Chicago Athletic Association hotel, opened as an omakase and now serves hand rolls and seasonal small plates.
Lockwood grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and got his start washing dishes at 14. After a three-year apprenticeship through the American Culinary Federation, he trained under Gary Danko in San Francisco. He spent time as a butcher in Maui and worked for two years as chef de partie at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. In 2010, he returned to Boulder as chef de cuisine at Frasca Food and Wine. He later staged in several European kitchens, including El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain.
Lockwood joined Eleven Madison Park as a sous chef in 2012 and went on to lead the kitchen at The NoMad as chef de cuisine. He returned to Eleven Madison Park in 2016 and eventually became chef de cuisine there, too. While working as a consulting chef on The Bear, he met Boka co-founders Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm, who brought him into the group as a chef-partner.
