2023 Summer Valparaiso Magazine

CULINARY ADVENTURES AWAIT | MAIN + LINCOLN
George Djurovic and staff,
Main + Lincoln
COOKING UP
MAIN + LINCOLN SERVES A UNIQUE BLEND
OF VARIOUS EXPERIENCES TO VALPARAISO.
By Haleigh Vander Vinne
eorge Djurovic, chef and co-owner
of Main + Lincoln, was in the kitchen,
cutting an entire salmon when I
arrived to interview him. Known
for his extensive background in
cuisine, dating back to 1997 -- from
attending Le Cordon Bleu, a renown
culinary school in Paris, to working
at Le Bernardin in New York City, one of
the original Michelin Guide’s three-star
restaurants -- I expected him to be in a
pristine chef’s outfit but instead, he was
wearing jeans and a simple apron, prepping
an entire salmon. “Cutting this fish is very
much representative of what we do with
everything here, which is to say everything
comes in this fresh state,” said Djurovic.
One Meal Inspired
a Lifelong Passion
When asked what his most memorable meal
was, Djurovic laughed. He has loved and
4 SUMMER 2023 |
experienced so much diverse cuisine that it
was tough to choose just one, but he settled
on the night that sparked his passion. “I
think one meal that comes to mind that got
me excited about fine dining and cuisine
was my senior prom dinner at a restaurant
called the Everest Room in Chicago,”
said Djurovic. He painted a picture of
an incredible formal dining room, large
windows facing west for a famous sunset
view, new foods to taste such as raw tuna
and rabbit, and waiters taking care of them.
“It was really special and after that, I knew
this is what I want to do,” added Djurovic.
How to Make Cooking
at Home Equally as
Special as Going Out
Many people veer towards going out to eat
versus cooking at home. “The main reason
I think that people don’t cook at home is
the chore involved in it,” said Djurovic. Why
bother with going to the grocery store,
prepping, and cooking the food, then
cleaning the dishes afterwards when you can
just go to a restaurant? To help make cooking
at home a special experience, Djurovic used
his exposure to restaurants in Chicago, New
York, and Paris to open a grocery store. “I
could take all the things that I learned how to
do in all these wonderful restaurants and then
apply it to cooking at home,” said Djurovic.
“That’s really what I love, knowing that I’ve
helped people in the cooking process,”
continued Djurovic. His advice to make
cooking at home less of a chore: Clean while
you cook. And he practices what he preaches.
There was not a sliver of excess salmon on his
worktable during our interview.
What New American
Cuisine Means
Djurovic, a Valparaiso native, returned home
at a fortuitous time to become co-owner
and chef at Main + Lincoln. Drawing from
his influences and experiences, he blends
cuisines – American, Mexican, Asian, and
others – to represent America’s diverse
history as the melting pot. He calls it “new
American cuisine”.