Dave Beran
American chef and restaurateur with multiple James Beard awards.
Dave Beran is an American chef and restaurateur. Born in Ashland, Wisconsin, he graduated from Lake Forest College in 2003. He made his name as the executive chef at Next, the Chicago restaurant co-owned by Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas. In 2016, he announced his departure to start his own restaurant in Los Angeles. Since then, he has owned and operated three restaurants in Santa Monica: Dialogue (now permanently closed, one Michelin star), Pasjoli (one Michelin star), and his newest, Seline, a fine dining tasting menu that earned one Michelin star in June 2026.
Quick Facts
- Restaurants
- Seline 1; Pasjoli
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Beran announced his departure from Next on April 14, 2016, to start his own restaurant in Los Angeles.
- His restaurant Dialogue held one Michelin star before closing in October 2020.
- He is an avid marathon runner who has run the Chicago Marathon and then worked a full day afterward.
Awards
Under Dave Beran's oversight, Next received the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant in 2012. After three prior nominations for best new chef and rising star chef, Beran won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef: Great Lakes in 2014. That same year, Food & Wine included him in its class of best new chefs. In 2026, Beran won Best Chef: California, twelve years after his Great Lakes win.
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