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Ravinia Executive Chef Michael Tsonton
is overseeing all-new menus in each of
the Dining Pavilion’s restaurants, from the
reserved tables of the Park View and Tree
Top restaurants to the casual Lawn Bar
and the grab-and-go Ravinia Market.
Even more exciting, Chef Tsonton will do this all with some brand-new concepts
within the rejuvenated Dining Pavilion. On the ground oor, the new Lawn Bar and
its two full bars—one each indoors and outdoors—will also serve small plates and
entrées, and the Ravinia Market will feature ve hot stations with di erent cuisines,
as well as grab-and-go food and drinks. And the second oor is now home to both
reservation-driven restaurants: the new Tree Top and its outdoor, covered Porch will
o er a micro-seasonal
prix- xe
menu in serve-yourself style, and the popular Park
View will feature a refreshed menu.
Ravinia
Magazine spoke with Chef Tsonton about
the new spaces, what makes him excited and his approach to seasonal cooking.
You’re donning the jacket of Ravinia
Executive Chef this year, but you’ve
already been in the kitchens for a year.
at’s right. I started in April
, cooking
alongside Ali Saboor, who was Executive
Chef here for three years, so I already have
one Ravinia season under my belt.
Tell us about all the new dining
concepts—how many are there?
ere’s one that’s brand-new, the walk-up
Lawn Bar, and there’s a contemporary,
reimagined version of our “chef ’s table”
concept, and that’s called Tree Top. e
Ravinia Market is ush with fresh ideas
as well, so our grab-and-go concessions
market is about percent larger.
What was the reason for this
rejuvenation of the Dining Pavilion?
One problem that arose with the
original Dining Pavilion was that it
could seem like a “house on the hill.”
People would come and think that’s
where only the major donors could go.
It didn’t seem like the di erent spaces
were open and available to the regular
concertgoer. And we weren’t making
full use of one of its greatest assets,
the vistas from the second oor. What
was the private banquet hall there is
now Tree Top, so now we have two
restaurants with a view, and both have
alfresco seating for full enjoyment of
the summer—and if the weather doesn’t
cooperate, they can be covered. Plus
the ground oor has also been opened
up, so it’s all accessible and visible to
everyone. All the walls between the
lawn and the Dining Pavilion are now
gone. is is where the Lawn Bar
shines—there’s a ton of patio seating and
it basically opens right into the park. It
says, “Come in and visit. We want to get
to know everyone.”
Will it be open during the concerts?
Tree Top and Park View will close
when the music starts every night, but
the Lawn Bar is our hip, casual, social
RAVINIA MAGAZINE | JUNE 1 – JUNE 17, 2018
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