Michael Christensen Leads Culinary Vision For Huse Restaurants

Culinary Journey

“When I was seven years old, we moved here from Michigan and to celebrate our move and my dad’s new job, he took us to this restaurant called St. Elmo Steak House in downtown Indianapolis and it was phenomenal. It was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.”

Now, 50 years later, Michael Christensen has created an extensive résumé filled with culinary excellence and a full-circle moment — being able to create those experiences for guests as the director of culinary operations for Huse Culinary, the restaurant group behind the famous St. Elmo Steak House and Harry & Izzy’s.

“Food is my way of making people happy. That’s what I love about my job. My passion for food has always been in me in a way. My dad was a great cook, and my grandmother was an amazing cook. I was inspired by her and my dad. I used to love to watch Justin Wilson, Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse on TV and that’s where a lot of my inspiration came from,” Christensen says.

Christensen, a local Noblesville graduate, attended Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina, graduating in 1991. After completing an internship in Nashville, Tennessee, Christensen returned home to central Indiana to start his career as a chef.

“After my internship, I came home and went to work for a steakhouse company in Indianapolis as a chef and then eventually became a corporate chef and ran four restaurants around the Indianapolis area. In 1997, a company came into the city called Sullivan’s Steakhouse. They were part of the Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group and they recruited me to open a restaurant at Keystone at the Crossing. I worked for that company for 20 years, working my way through the ranks starting as a chef and then becoming a corporate brand chef for the Sullivan’s brand. I had 18 restaurants around the country as far away as Anchorage, Alaska,” Christensen says.

Then in 2017, Christensen had the opportunity to become the director of culinary operations for Huse Culinary. A position that is focused on “all things culinary,” Christensen’s responsibilities include hiring and training sous chefs and chefs, developing recipes and menus and maintaining kitchen standards for all the Huse Culinary brands.

“I was familiar with the ownership and knew that they were good people and it would be a great company to work for. I was right, it’s a wonderful atmosphere and a really good company,” Christensen says about Huse Culinary.

Christensen says the growth of Huse Culinary over the last 10 years has been an amazing thing to see and to be a part of, adding that his goals and what he envisioned for his role as director of culinary operations and for Huse Culinary are exactly what is happening now.

“Right now, we have eight restaurants with all our restaurants in the Indianapolis and surrounding areas. We’re currently in the process of building a Harry & Izzy’s restaurant in Paradise Valley, Arizona, and we have future plans for more restaurants out in that area. And we continue to fine-tune and develop craveable recipes and menu items that guests can’t wait to come back and have again,” Christensen says.

The thing Christensen is most proud of through his work with Huse Culinary is the culinary team he has built, saying his chefs and sous chefs are phenomenal. Christensen credits his success to his colleagues, appreciating them as people and stressing the importance of morale and teamwork.

“I’m only as good as the chefs in my restaurants and any credit that I have also goes to the people on my team. I appreciate them and I make sure that I know them and know their interests. It’s an honor for me to lead the people that I work with because they’re all amazing,” Christensen says.

He adds, “I know my people. I know them not just as chefs and sous chefs and cooks in my restaurants but I know them as people. I know their families, I know their wives’ names, kids’ names and they value and appreciate that because whenever we’re together we’re not just talking about the restaurant and food — we’re talking about life and each other.”

To Christensen, it is very important to be a leader that people will want to work for and with. He says his biggest piece of advice to aspiring chefs is simple.

“You have to be someone that people want to work for. The chefs that we see on TV, like Gordon Ramsay, that’s acting. You have to treat people with respect. Get to know the people around you and don’t just treat them like an employee or a number — treat them like a person.”