daniel campbell, corporate chef
born and raised in detroit by a family of educators, 37 year-old corporate chef daniel campbell established an interest in the culinary world at an early age. daniel’s first introduction to the food world was through his mother, who prepared heartily home-cooked meals and kept the family’s cellar stocked each season with their own canned tomatoes, peaches, and strawberry preserves. a musician at heart, daniel studied piano at detroit’s center for creative studies before moving to the pacific northwest at the age of 18, where he worked his way up the culinary ladder in every imaginable position from dishwasher and line cook to sous chef at a private club in downtown seattle and opening new culinary hotspots in eastern washington.

when approached to join detroit’s new critically-acclaimed restaurant tribute in 2004, daniel jumped at the chance to return to his hometown and work under james beard award-winning chef takashi yagihashi, whom daniel credits today as one of his biggest culinary influences. daniel went on to the role of executive chef at assaggi bistro in downtown detroit before signing on with celebrity chef michael mina to open saltwater, the aaa four-diamond restaurant in detroit’s mgm grand hotel & casino. this is where daniel first began working with tallulah dining group’s antoine przekop, who made the introduction to proprietor mindy lopus. the decision to take the reins at tallulah wine bar & bistro in the summer of 2011 and open bellapiatti soon after was an easy one for daniel—he relished the opportunity to start from scratch with the new venture and set the bar for truly inventive fine dining in the detroit area.

with a self-described knack for “making things taste really good”, daniel’s philosophy on food is all about simplicity: get the heart of what makes a dish good, then play off of that core component. citing tallulah’s coq au vin as a prime example, daniel believes the strength of the dish has less to do with the obvious main ingredient, and everything to do with creating the perfect egg noodle.

an avid researcher, daniel often references the history and development of dishes as inspiration for keeping his food uncomplicated. “i’d prefer to take something out of a dish rather than put something in,” says daniel of his method of menu development. in a world of fine dining where dishes are often overworked and over-garnished, daniel aims to keep his dishes simple and clean by allowing the highest-quality ingredients to shine on their own–he jokes that in lieu of heavily flavored sauces, his “favorite stock” for cooking is water. he looks at each dish as more than a collection of ingredients, and considers whether all components will mesh from beginning to end. “it’s easy to make anything taste good for one bite, but when done correctly, a dish should leave a lasting impression and make sense from the first to the last bite.”

in his downtime, daniel enjoys relaxing with his girlfriend at home in ferndale, sampling the city’s best vietnamese fare, and volunteering for the detroit area chef’s feed the need.