Brandon Arms, Chef

      Chef Brandon Arms has always loved food, nature and life. In fact, he’s worked the past 17 years to turn the love of these elements into a career in cooking, through learning, practicing and sharing this passion with other enthusiasts.

       In 1993, Chef Brandon began his career in restaurants as a dishwasher at a family-owned Italian restaurant, Paisan’s, located in the heart of downtown Madison, WI. He relished this taste of the industry, and began working in restaurant kitchens around the Madison area, most notably Harvest, the Edgewater Hotel, and Maple Bluff Country Club. This experience was all he needed to recognize his calling to pursue a culinary career, so he enrolled in culinary school at the New England Culinary Institute (N.E.C.I.),
graduating in 2006.

      Chef Brandon emerged from Culinary School to work with Chef Ken Oringer at his flagship restaurant Clio. While working through the ranks and scaling the steep learning curve, Chef Brandon recorded in a journal all of his experiences, both positive and negative, to document his time and learnings at Clio.

      After Chef Brandon and Garden founder Chef Will Gilson connected in 2009, Chef Will hired him as his Sous Chef. Working with Will and the Garden team to shape a comfortable neighborhood environment while producing delicious and inventive food, provided an additional valuable learning experience for Chef Brandon.

      Now that Chef Will has decided to take his career to the next level, Chef Brandon is excited for the opportunity to take the helm. Chef Brandon and the Garden team will continue to serve the neighborhood delicious, local and seasonal food in a lively atmosphere.

     The Garden at the Cellar team and Chef Brandon invite you to relax in a comfortable setting, enjoy some tasty food and drinks, and call the Garden your home away from home.