COMPETITOR

Team Indiana ~ Spoke & Steele

HEAD COOK: Erin Oechsle

COMPETITION: World Sandwich Championship

Chef Erin Oechsle hails from Northern Kentucky where she spent the first 8 years of her life getting to know food through her grandpa's homemade specialties like green bean goulash and strawberry pie. Though admittedly, his sauerkraut and homemade dumplings weren't her favorite at the time! From there, she moved to Indy, where she eventually fell in love with food and all things restaurant. She graduated from The Chef's Academy in 2009 while working at Dunaway’s Steak House and then really started her career at 94 West Steak House in Orland Park, Illinois. After moving back to Indy, she moved up the ladder at Mitchell's Fish Market, starting as a fish cutter and ending up as a supervisor and bartender. That's where she came to love all things seafood! Since then, she's worked at many different establishments gaining a vast variety of food and beverage knowledge. Chef Oechsle explored the catering industry while working in the sales department and kitchen at Bon Appetit Management and A Cut Above Catering. In March 2018, Erin accepted the Executive Chef position at Spoke & Steele and worked with consulting chef, Greg Hardesty. A year later, April 2019, Chef Erin debuted her first personally curated menu at Spoke & Steele. She shifted the structure of the menu to small, medium, and large plate format with focus on fresh, local, and organic meats, cheese, and produce and the freshest seafood available in the Midwest. “While I certainly love to eat and prepare Asian cuisine, I’ve included a little bit of everything on this menu from my beloved Asian to Southern to fusion, all with a little personal spin,” she says. Spoke & Steele gave Chef Erin the opportunity to spread her wings and show Indianapolis who she is and what she has to offer to this wonderful food community. In 2020, she left the restaurant and began her new career as a Culinary Instructor at Area 31 Career Center, where she could help inspire, educate, and prepare the next generation of cooks. She continues to work with high schoolers during the school year while also focusing on her her own private catering, Chef E- the Supper Club, where she wines and dines guests in the comfort of their own home and provides private cooking lessons to those eager to get more comfortable in the kitchen.