Lincoln Park, 2005. The first year of Alinea. We didn’t know it then, but this was the dawn of molecular gastronomy in America, a new form of fine dining. A young chef trained at The French Laundry by Chef Thomas Keller and transformed by the philosophy of Ferran Adrià at El Bulli brings bold, playful ideas to Chicago.

How will guests respond to a piece of dehydrated, butterscotch-bacon dangling from a trapeze string to be eaten with their fingers? It was a year of unbounded experimentation to create transcendent dining moments.

In 2005, Alinea set the standard for today with a new train of thought.