I liked Dan Jacobs from the moment we started talking to him. His warmth and genuineness was apparent right away, despite the fact that he is, as he says, “Milwaukee famous.”
Dan was the runner up on season 21 of Top Chef; he is the chef and co-owner of DanDan and EsterEv in Milwaukee; and he is a passionate advocate for positive change in the restaurant industry, among many other things. And in 2016, he was diagnosed with Kennedy’s Disease, a genetic neuromuscular condition that’s often mistaken for ALS.
Despite his condition — a condition, we learned, that Dan’s brother has, too, although it presents differently for both of them — Dan almost won his season of Top Chef and he continues to consistently work in his kitchens, with some adjustments. He was open with us about what that looks like, about how much he loves Milwaukee — even though, as a Chicago native, he’s still a die-hard Cubs fan — and about his awesome restaurant team, wife, and family.
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