Aaron Aggarwal
MEET OUR CHEF
Aaron Aggarwal
If anyone was destined to become an award-winning chef, it's Aaron Aggarwal, a.k.a. Chef Aaron. In 2003 and 2004 Aaron won eight prestigious international awards for his Ahrun's Famous private label line of gourmet sauces and mixes. Several of these sauces serve as the not-so-secret ingredient in some of Nellie's tasty offerings. (click for list of awards or visit www.ahrunsfamous.com for info and fun recipes).
Durty Nellie's head chef was literally raised in a restaurant. Aaron learned all aspects of the food business from his parents, who owned several Chicagoland eateries. By age seven, little Aaron was preparing soup for his parents' patrons.
An admitted "chilehead" and freshness fanatic, Aaron studied under world famous Southwest cooking guru Mark Miller, of Coyote Café fame. He attended Miller's Santa Fe School of cooking and also took classes at Kendall College, an acclaimed culinary arts school in Evanston, IL. In addition, Aaron was schooled in the art of down-home country cookin' with freshly grown ingredients by his Kentucky grandmother, whom he visited on her farm each summer.
All these influences came in handy for Chef Aaron, who created the original menu for Duke O'Brien's, giving it a true Southwest and Irish flair. Duke O'Brien's is Durty Nellie's sister restaurant/pub located in Crystal Lake, IL.
Aaron's first worked for the original Durty Nellie's at 55 N. Bothwell as a bartender and short order cook. In 1995 he moved to Duke's, where he served as sous chef and then quickly worked his way up to head chef. When the new Nellie's debuted in December 2003, complete with a huge new kitchen facility, Aaron was the natural choice to create the new menu and serve as executive chef.
The cuisine at Nellie's ranges from American comfort food such as pot pie, steaks, chops and burgers to Irish pub fare (boxties, fish & chips, corned beef & cabbage). While these styles of cooking don't call for the spice and heat that Chef Aaron loves, he nevertheless has infused Nellie's meals with flavorful, creative touches. "American and Irish fare with flair," as Aaron likes to put it.
Or, as the Daily Herald food editor, Deborah Pankey wrote: "Chef Aaron Aggarwal has created a broad-appeal menu, offering pub staples like hearty burgers and the familiar Nellie's Rueben. But the menu goes so far beyond your standard pub fare. Irish influenced dishes like pork chops glazed with applewhiskey sauce, chicken breast rubbed with mustard and served with whiskey sauce and Gaelic fish and chips share the pages with American fare such as blackened pork loin and smoked mozzarella ravioli.
Sampling the Irish offerings is a must. The basket of fish and chips comes steaming hot and crispy; the flavorful beer batter doesn't overpower the haddock fillets…The beer sausage boxty presents three sausages marinated in seasonal beer. While the grilled sausages provide plenty of flavor (and plenty of meat to share), the vegetable boxty, an Irish dish akin to potato bread pudding, steals the show.
Desserts, hit the mark… I hope they don't ever take the sublime cheesecake flavored with Bailey's Irish Cream, caramel and chocolate off the menu."
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2004 INTERNATIONAL FIERY FOOD CHALLENGE |
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1st Place Hot Sauce |
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2nd Place Mustard Base Bbq Sauce |
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3rd Place Fruit Base Bbq Sauce |
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2004 SCOVILLE AWARDS |
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1st Place Fruit Base Bbq Sauce |
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1st Place Mustard Base Bbq Sauce |
| 2005 INTERNATIONAL FIERY FOOD CHALLENGE |
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1st Place Bloody Mary Mix |
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1st Place Peoples Choice Award |
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Best In Show (over 850 entries) |