Ivy Tech scholarship to honor late pioneering Indianapolis chef

A coalition selling Indiana meals is trying to maintain the legacy of certainly one of Indianapolis’ most distinguished eating champions in entrance of the subsequent generations of cooks.

Culinary Crossroads is establishing a scholarship to honor chef Greg Hardesty, the chief within the unbiased eating places scene, who died in June 2021, the group introduced Tuesday night time. 

The annual Culinary Crossroads Chef Greg Hardesty Scholarship will go to college students at Ivy Tech Neighborhood School Faculty of Culinary Arts. 

Might eating places:Strive these Indianapolis spots

Particulars of the scholarship are nonetheless being labored out, however it is going to be out there by Ivy Tech campuses all through the state, mentioned Culinary Crossroads founder Larry Dickerson forward of saying the creation of the Greg Hardesty Scholarship Fund, which is funding the award. 

Culinary Crossroads is seeding the fund with cash from varied occasions, together with these that includes cooks who have been educated by Hardesty’s outlets. It should start with not less than $10,000 and is open to donations.

Indylicious:Join native eating information

The group unveiled the trouble Tuesday night time on the conclusion of its spring dinner collection at Highland Golf & Nation Membership. Hardesty was the featured chef on the finale of the 2021 dinner collection in the identical house.

“We need to work with the management at Ivy Tech to verify it is in keeping with what they need to be sure that their college students have once they depart. And in addition we’re hoping to include a few of the key features of what Greg delivered to the business; his ardour for educating others,” Dickerson mentioned. “Our intent is to have an affect of Greg’s accomplishments constructed into the Ivy Tech culinary faculty’s programming by this scholarship.

Culinary Crossroads was fashioned in 2019 to showcase the state’s eating places, produce and artisan meals merchandise and help Hoosier cooks competing within the World Meals Championships.

The group lured the World Meals Championships’ The Ultimate Desk competitors to Indianapolis in 2020.

A legacy in culinary Indy

The announcement comes practically a 12 months after Hardesty died following a year-long battle with leukemia.

An everyday semifinalist within the regional greatest chef class for the James Beard Awards, the 52-year-old had been the chef-proprietor of the acclaimed restaurant Recess, in addition to H2O Sushi, farm-to-table restaurant Parts, and Studio C espresso spot-dinner membership.

He educated a lot of Indianapolis’ greatest cooks — together with Bluebeard’s Abby Merriss and Milktooth’s Jonathan Brooks — who contributed to a collection of fundraisers earlier than his loss of life, and have been among the many roughly 500 that celebrated his life at a memorial weeks after.

Farmers markets:From Indianapolis to Zionsville: Here is what you may discover

Dickerson mentioned the trouble to commemorate Hardesty’s contributions to Indianapolis’ meals scene has been within the works since final 12 months.

The scholarship is an apt tribute, mentioned Susan Hardesty, the chef’s highschool sweetheart and spouse of 27 years.

Hardesty was a proponent of conserving culinary careers accessible, with out the necessity for expensive formal coaching, she mentioned.

Meals fest:The IndyStar Wine & Meals Expertise set to return this fall

He taught loads by volunteering, workshops at his areas, taking over interns and mentoring in his kitchens, she mentioned.

“It’s simply sensible as a result of it does actually match with what Greg talked about,” she mentioned.  “To know that there’s a culinary scholarship for an schooling that is so costly; I simply know he can be actually happy with that.”

Ivy Tech will start accepting scholarship candidates for any of its six campuses later this 12 months, with the primary award anticipated for the spring semester of 2023. 

For extra data, go to CulinaryCrossroads.org.

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Observe her on Twitter: @cherylvjackson.