Our 10 favorite moments from Dan Jacobs’ spectacular run on ‘Top Chef: Wisconsin’
Warning: This article spoils the outcome of the finale of “Top Chef: Wisconsin,” which aired June 19, 2024. Stop reading now if you’re not caught up!
It was a long road for Milwaukee chef Dan Jacobs, who made it all the way to the finale of “Top Chef: Wisconsin” after trying out for the show nearly a dozen times.
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel just after the show’s season premiere in March, he said he learned he was cast before he — or anyone — knew the season would take place in his adopted home state, where he’s lived since 2011.
“Something just felt right this time, things were all falling into place,” he said. “Maybe it’s because I wasn’t fixating on wanting it so much, but I just felt good about it.”
As one of 16 “cheftestants” during his 14-episode run on “Top Chef,” Jacobs had more than just vibes and good luck on his side. He hustled, remained level-headed and learned cooking with his heart was the key to success on the show.
And look where it got him.
Prior to the finale, over 24 challenges, Jacobs placed in the top three contestants 10 times, won two Elimination Challenges and one Quickfire Challenge (the final Quickfire, set in Curacao.)
He placed in the bottom three only twice in Elimination Challenges: at the Brewers’ Famous Racing Sausages challenge and the tablescape challenge.
Jacobs may not have won the title of Top Chef (that honor went to New York chef Danny Garcia), but he was a top-three finalist, a consistent presence at the top of so many challenges and a beloved teammate to his fellow cheftestants. Moreover, he used his platform on the show to give awareness to Kennedy's Disease and prove that differently-abled people can accomplish anything they set their mind to.
These are a few of our favorite moments from Jacobs' journey on “Top Chef.”
His chicken liver mousse from the supper club challenge
When host Kristen Kish announced the Elimination Challenge in Madison-based Episode 5, Jacobs did a little shimmy in excitement. He was well-versed in supper clubs, and he knew he could do the Wisconsin tradition proud.
And that he did! Claiming the first-course relish tray dish, Jacobs whipped up a mini spread of chicken liver mousse, steak tartare, crudités in “soil” and fried seed toast.
Joe Papache, owner of The Harvey House (where the challenge was based) said Jacobs “hit the nail on the head” with his entire relish tray, but the chicken liver mousse was the clear standout. So good that judge Gail Simmons swiped her finger through it to sneak one last bite.
“This is one dish I thought was executed from start to finish flawlessly,” Tom Colicchio said at the judges’ table.
It led to Dan’s first challenge win of the season.
Revealing his Kennedy’s Disease diagnosis to his fellow cheftestants
In 2017, Jacobs was diagnosed with Kennedy’s Disease, an incurable neuromuscular condition that causes muscle atrophy. It’s affected so much of what he does running a restaurant, but he didn’t want his condition to cloud his fellow contestants’ view of him.
After keeping his diagnosis a secret over the first four challenges, and struggling with intricate plating during the bar snacks challenge at the Historic Miller Caves, he opened up to his fellow chefs near the end of Episode 2.
“If you see me going slow, it’s not just because I’m old,” he said. "I have this thing called Kennedy’s Disease. I’m losing my ability to walk, losing my ability to use my hands, to possibly speak and swallow. Being around people like you really inspires me to keep fighting and being tough and just do this shit.”
The other cheftestants were surprised and supportive.
“This is already hard,” Houston chef Michelle Wallace said. “He’s amazing to be able to push through this competition, to be as creative as he is, and he does it with a smile.”
Through 14 episodes of the season, all the way to the finale, he never let Kennedy’s Disease get in the way of performing at the top level.
‘That ‘Midwest nice’ (expletive) is 100% legit’
On Episode 1, the cheftestants hadn't yet been schooled on all things Wisconsin. So New Orleans chef Charly Pierre turned to the expert for advice.
“Mr. Milwaukee,” he said to Jacobs, “Tell us about your city.”
That ‘Midwest nice’ (expletive) is 100% legit,” Jacobs said.
He told the Journal Sentinel that, to him, “Midwest nice” means leaving that one last chicken wing or onion ring in the basket, or giving someone an out while making plans before giving them a chance to answer.
But on the show, it reflected in his compassion toward his teammates, whether offering a hug before they served a dish to the judges, a word of encouragement during a stressful cook, or relenting a top choice of dish when another teammate lobbied to make it, too.
We didn’t catch footage of him leaving that last onion ring in the basket, but we don't doubt it happened at some point during the show.
Finishing in the top three at the cheese festival
On Episode 3, the cheftestants were charged with the grueling challenge of cooking for 100 guests at an outdoor cheese festival in Oconomowoc — in 90-degree heat, no less.
While nearly half the contestants opted to make some kind of fried croquette (oh, we won’t forget Croquette Gate soon), Jacobs played it smart with a light and foamy gnocchi dish starring Door Artisan Cheese Company’s Sancho Cruz Mexican-style Manchego.
It worked for him. The festival guests voted Jacobs’ dish in the top three of 13 that day, and the judges agreed. It was his first high placement of the season, and considering he was the only Wisconsin-based chef cooking at the cheese challenge, he didn’t curdle under the pressure.
'Damanda'
Season 21 was exceptionally cordial, light on interpersonal drama with the contestants seeming to get along well (Jacobs said they still have a “very active” group chat). But one duo stood out as true kindred spirits: Jacobs and Austin-based chef Amanda Turner, who dubbed themselves “Damanda” during the Frank Lloyd Wright challenge in Episode 4.
We loved their playful banter, the way they embraced their “geekdom,” and those funny little ”caw-caws!” that rang out as they looked for each other while grocery shopping.
The two truly had each other’s backs the whole season, including when Jacobs chose Turner as his sous chef in the finale — as if there’d be any other choice.
A coveted win at Restaurant Wars
Every ”Top Chef” fan looks forward to the Restaurant Wars challenge, wherein the cheftestants must create and execute an entirely new restaurant concept within 24 hours.
Both restaurants, Dos by Duel and Channel (where Jacobs served as line cook), were a little shaky. Service was slow and some dishes were complete misses, but Jacobs’ first-course dish was an absolute stunner.
He made a smoked walleye with labneh, hash brown potato cake and harissa, a high-low concept with a mighty wink to Lake Michigan just steps away from the restaurant’s site at Discovery World.
“Your smoked walleye felt like you’d been doing it a long time, but it also was a dish that really represented the concept,” guest judge Kwame Onwuachi said.
Jacobs won Restaurant Wars with his dish, his second win on the show. And he did it by cooking from his heart.
“You brought it home for Wisconsin!” Colicchio said at the judges’ table. We love to hear that.
Every time he got excited seeing a Wisconsin chef he knew
“I know him!” Jacobs exclaimed in his most Buddy-the-Elf delivery of the show. He lit up on Episode 1 when learning Milwaukee restaurateur Paul Bartolotta would be a guest judge along with Lupi & Iris chef-owner Adam Siegel.
And the fanboy moments only went up from there. Whether it was seeing The Diplomat chef-owner Dane Baldwin during the cheese festival, a bevy of Milwaukee-based chefs during the Famous Racing Sausages challenge, former employee Bryce Stevenson of La Pointe’s Miijim during the Indigenous cuisine challenge, or former boss Carrie Nahabedian from his early-career days in Chicago at the finale, Jacobs seemed so happy to run into chefs he’d worked with and admired every time they stepped in as guest judges.
And the feeling seemed mutual.
“Every guest judge who’s walked into our kitchen has been so excited to see him,” Simmons told the Journal Sentinel last summer. “This show is going to make him famous around the country, but, apparently, he was already the most popular chef in Milwaukee to begin with.”
His first-ever Quickfire Challenge win (right at the buzzer!)
Throughout the season, Jacobs lamented the Quickfire Challenge, the top-of-episode mini challenge wherein the cheftestants had to create a delicious, inspired dish in 30 minutes or less based on a themed ingredient or concept.
“I suck at Quickfires. I might as well just pack my knives and sit this one out,” he said in Episode 7 before a flambe challenge.
He’d placed in the top three in Quickfires just twice during the regular season, but in the final Quickfire Challenge of the season, the first finale episode on the shores of Cura?ao, he finally nabbed a win with a lionfish tartare tossed in Kewpie mayo and served with orange and fresno aguachile and gouda frico.
What a way to finish off his foe — and win $10,000 in the process.
A strong finish with his four-course finale meal
In the finale challenge, finalists Jacobs, Danny Garcia and Savannah Miller made a four-course meal that represented their journey as a chef.
Inspired by words chef Masaharu Morimoto left him after cooking dinner for the chefs in Episode 13, Jacobs created a menu that reflected his one chance at showing what kind of chef he was in that very moment.
From his snapper dish with braised pumpkin and smoked snapper dashi to his third-course stunner oxtail ragu with dumplings and pikliz to his dessert of yogurt mousse with grilled pineapple, his dishes were elevated and creative, but stayed true to his strengths and roots as a Wisconsin-based chef.
Across the board, he got incredibly positive critiques from the judges, and before Kish called Garcia's name, it really seemed as though Jacobs was the one to beat.
He may not have won the title of Top Chef, but it was an incredibly strong finish that proved he’d earned his spot in the top three and then some.
Every time he gave a shout-out to Milwaukee and Wisconsin
“Mr. Milwaukee” was an incredible ambassador of our city and state throughout the season, whether leading a toast at Blu at the Pfister on Episode 1, shouting out Milwaukee’s stacked festival scene, explaining supper club culture to his teammates, or even giving in to his not-so-favorite tradition of Door County fish boils.
“I’m on the cusp of being the next Top Chef,” he said heading into the finale. “I’m happy to represent my city of Milwaukee, I’m happy to represent the state of Wisconsin. Let’s go.”
Rachel Bernhard joined the Journal Sentinel as dining critic in June 2023. She’s been busy exploring the Milwaukee area food scene to share her favorite finds with readers along the way. Like all Journal Sentinel reporters, she buys all meals, accepts no gifts and is independent of all establishments she covers.
What should she cover next? Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @rachelbernhard or on Instagram at @rach.eats.mke.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 10 favorite moments from Dan Jacobs’ run on ‘Top Chef: Wisconsin’
