25 years ago Charlie Trotters opened amidst trends that including Cajun food, chefs were wrapping all sorts of things in thin slices of potato, Daniel Boulud was taking over at Le Cirque… and we were finishing a good dinner with a few cigarettes. It was a crazy time.

In August, Charlie Trotter will end his 25 year reign as one of if not the best of the fine dining restaurants in Chicago.  He has fostered the Chicago restaurant scene, attracting and fostering talent that stayed in town including: Bill Kim, Mindy Segal, Giuseppe Tentori, Homaru Cantu, Curtis Duffy, Graham Elliot and Grant Achatz.

He has also worked to put vegetarian and raw cuisines on people's radar. He's a big reason why Chicago has  the fine-dining standards we have. And while he's be missed, he's just going away to school… He'll be back, right?