Columbus Monthly / January 2013 / Most Interesting Career Move: Bill Glover To Gallerie

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Most Interesting Career Move: Bill Glover To Gallerie

With Gallerie at the new Hilton, Sage’s chef expands his restaurant empire to two

You’d never know it from talking to him, but Bill Glover is under a lot of pressure.

Not only is he still at the helm of one of the city’s best restaurants, Sage American Bistro, he’s breaking this city’s resistance to hotel dining with his airy-yet-refined spot Gallerie inside the new Hilton on High Street.

But sit down with him as we did—catch him in a rare break from the nearly 90 hours he puts in each week planning galas, filling catering orders and running dinner service at Gallerie while still maintaining close contact with the staff at Sage—and he’s practically sedate.

“The first chef I worked for told me, ‘You need to calm down,’ and I learned to do it early on,” Glover says. “Results are more important than flying around like a chicken with your head cut off.”

Here’s more insight from Columbus’ calmest chef.

On how he got the job:

I was eating dinner at the bar at Sage one night, and I noticed a guy at the bar eating dinner that I hadn’t seen before, so I introduced myself and asked him what he thought of the food. He said, “I want another one of these to go.”

It turned out to be (Hilton general manager) Chris Coffin, and he told me about the hotel and his plans for the restaurant. I asked him if he had a chef in mind. He said they didn’t, and I said I’d be willing to help him think of ideas.

The following Sunday, he came in for brunch and invited me to do a walk-through of the construction site with him, and then the opportunity with Gallerie presented itself. I talked it over with my staff at Sage, and they were all on board, and I took the job starting
July 9.

On the food:

I approached the menu at Gallerie the same way I approached Sage—lots of Ohio products, farm-to-table. I actually put a huge list at the top of the menu of every farm I used.

On beating the “hotel restaurant” stigma:

In Europe, all the best restaurants are in hotels. In America, there’s a stigma. In cities like New York and Las Vegas, hotels will go out and get a big name that breaks down the stigma, but it’s still in a hotel and that can be a deal breaker for some people.

Hilton could’ve easily brought in someone with hotel experience, someone from a hotel in maybe Chicago, and he could be a great chef. But here, he’d be a no-name. I’ve worked hard to build a reputation in Columbus, and I think that will bring people in.

On his goals:

I want to have two of the best restaurants in Columbus. My goal when I opened Sage was the same, for it to be one of the best in the city. I want it to be like bookends on High Street—Sage in the north and Gallerie on the south end.

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Glover’s most famous patron so far?

President Barack Obama, who spent the night in the Hilton during a November campaign stop. He ordered chips and salsa, eggs and turkey sausage—but to be able to prepare those for the president, Glover had to undergo a background check and be under constant supervision by Obama’s personal chef.

Dish Picks

Eating at Gallerie? These dishes are must-orders.

Bistro Salad ($11) Gallerie’s house salad is one of the best in town—a bed of frisee topped with tangy pickled red onions, crispy lardons and champagne vinaigrette. On top is a poached egg; break it, swirl the yolk around and the result is basically magic.

Duck Duet ($24) Roasted duck breast is too often bland and underwhelming. Glover’s preparation is masterful—a quick-seared breast paired with crisp-skinned yet gloriously tender confit leg and thigh.