Leading America’s bread renaissance in Chicago is Greg Wade, Head Baker at Publican Quality Bread, the wholesale bakery under the Publican family of restaurants. A graduate of the Illinois Institute of Art’s Culinary Program, Wade started his career at Taxim in Wicker Park, where he specialized in breads and pastries. To deepen his knowledge of bread-making, Wade joined the opening team at Girl & the Goat in 2010, excelling under Chef Stephanie Izard’s guidance. In 2013, Wade moved to Izard’s Little Goat to oversee bread baking at Girl & the Goat, Little Goat and Little Goat French Market.

Since joining Publican Quality Bread as head baker in 2014, Wade has transformed the concept’s baking program from a seedling operation within Publican Quality Meats to a highly successful wholesale division that works hand-in-hand with One Off Hospitality’s other concepts as well as the top chefs, farmers and retail owners in the Windy City. Specializing in whole grains and fermentation, Wade was honored with a James Beard Award for “Outstanding Baker” in 2019, and has been featured in the recently released documentary, “Sustainable: A Documentary on the Local Food Movement in America,” which is available for streaming on Netflix.