After more than 25 years spent building restaurants, leading culinary teams and mentoring the next generation of chefs, Keith Chapman is embarking on perhaps the most meaningful chapter of his career—building something entirely his own.
With the launch of Keith Chapman Culinary Group and its first public-facing concept, The Rooted Table, Chapman is bringing together decades of culinary experience, Michigan agriculture, education and hospitality into a business centered on one guiding belief: food should connect people.
Operating from Agricole Farm Stop in Chelsea, The Rooted Table is more than a café. It is a flexible farm kitchen, catering company and educational space designed to celebrate Michigan producers while creating meaningful experiences around the table. For Chapman, however, the story began long before restaurant kitchens and executive chef titles.
A childhood lesson that never left
The inspiration behind The Rooted Table traces back to Chapman’s childhood in Marquette, where his mother introduced him to the power food has to bring comfort and build relationships.
“My mother, Rhonda, was the first person who showed me what food could do. She cooked and baked for our family, church and community, but what stayed with me most was the time we spent caring for shut-ins from our church—people who could not leave their homes. We would cook dinner for them, or bake at our house and carry the food to their homes. My mother did not simply leave it at the door,” Chapman said.
Those visits left a lasting impression. Rather than simply delivering meals, his mother insisted they spend time with those they served, showing a young Chapman that hospitality extends far beyond what is on the plate.
That early lesson remained with him through culinary school, the challenges of becoming a young father, and years spent balancing multiple jobs while establishing himself in southeast Michigan’s restaurant industry. Along the way he became not only a chef, but also a teacher, consultant, mentor and restaurant builder.
Choosing the right time
Chapman’s decision to launch Keith Chapman Culinary Group did not happen overnight.
“Recently, several opportunities came together at once—restaurant development, consulting, media, catering and leadership work—and I joked that I felt like a high school quarterback being recruited for the pros, except I was a 43-year-old chef deciding what the next chapter of my life should be. I realized I had the experience, relationships and confidence. The missing step was to stop waiting for the ‘perfect’ moment and put faith in myself. Keith Chapman Culinary Group is the larger company and long-term vision,” Chapman said.
The Rooted Table represents the first public expression of that larger vision. Built around the guiding principles “Michigan Grown. World Inspired.” and “Food with Purpose,” it serves as the place where guests can experience Chapman’s philosophy firsthand.
Mentors who helped shape the journey
Although Chapman is launching his own company, he is quick to emphasize that no successful career is built alone.
He credits mentors, colleagues and longtime friends whose confidence and guidance helped him reach this point.
Among them is Allen A. Attee, owner of Picasso Restaurant Group.
Chapman consulted with Picasso before joining the company in early 2025, while simultaneously leading Café Zola and Zola Bistro in Ann Arbor. During that period he participated in multiple large-scale restaurant openings while evaluating what the next stage of his own career should become.
“Allen trusted me with major openings and large systems. Alex kept pushing my creativity and entrepreneurial thinking. My final day as a Picasso employee was August 31, 2026, and Keith Chapman Culinary Group LLC became official September 1. What says the most about my relationship with Allen is that when we parted ways, he asked whether I would continue working with Picasso as a consultant,” Chapman said.
Chapman says that relationship continued after his employment ended. While developing The Rooted Table website, he returned to Domino Farms, where Attee helped him complete the project. For Chapman, that continued support demonstrated that mutual respect outlasted the employment relationship itself.
He also credits Harry Cohen for helping him evolve from thinking like a chef to thinking like an entrepreneur.
“His guidance has helped me keep my head up, make hard decisions and protect the long-term purpose of the company,” Chapman said.
Chapman says Mike Potter of Eden Foods became another key supporter while discussions around television projects and strategic partnerships were developing. According to Chapman, Potter recognized that the vision extended beyond showcasing products—it involved educating consumers, supporting Michigan agriculture and building lasting relationships between farmers and guests. Chapman credits Potter’s encouragement and practical support with helping make The Rooted Table’s September opening possible.
Also, Chef Alex Young has been Chapman’s longtime mentor, profoundly influencing his creativity, entrepreneurial mindset, and professional growth throughout his career.
More than a restaurant
Although many guests will first encounter The Rooted Table as a café, Chapman sees it as something much broader.
Rather than operating as a traditional restaurant, the business combines a farm kitchen, catering operation and open-door workspace where guests can watch food being prepared, ask questions and experience the creative process firsthand.
The model allows flexibility while maintaining transparency—qualities Chapman believes strengthen the relationship between chefs, producers and diners.
Seasonality drives every menu decision. Instead of writing menus first and sourcing ingredients afterward, Chapman intends to begin with what Michigan farmers are harvesting at their peak before building dishes around those ingredients.
That philosophy also means telling guests where their food came from, introducing them to the farmers, producers and craftspeople whose work makes each meal possible.
Celebrating Michigan through food
The menu reflects Chapman’s personal and professional journey.
His Upper Peninsula roots appear in Rhonda’s Yooper Pasty Bites, named in honor of his mother, while Southeast Michigan influences blend with global culinary traditions throughout the rest of the offerings.
Guests will find dishes such as Michigan sweet-corn arancini, Lake Superior smoked-trout rillettes, roasted beet tartare, buckwheat waffles, ancient-grain harvest bowls, orchard salads, roasted butternut squash soup, Detroit-style cheesesteaks and locally inspired desserts.
For Chapman, however, the ingredients themselves tell only part of the story.
He hopes guests leave not only satisfied, but curious enough to ask where their tomatoes, mushrooms, grains or cheese originated—and who produced them.
Building community, not just customers
Community engagement sits at the heart of Chapman’s long-term plans.
He envisions The Rooted Table as a business Chelsea residents actively use rather than simply one located within the community.
That includes purchasing from Michigan producers, mentoring young culinary professionals, collaborating with neighboring businesses, hosting educational events and eventually establishing a nonprofit cooking school focused on mentorship and workforce development.
Chapman said culinary education should be accessible to aspiring chefs, families seeking healthier cooking habits and adults rebuilding their lives through meaningful career opportunities.
Looking toward the future
While Chapman dreams of one day expanding into additional restaurants, consulting projects, media initiatives and even Michelin-caliber dining experiences, he insists growth is meaningful only if it remains grounded in the values that inspired the company in the first place.
His larger vision includes expanding Keith Chapman Culinary Group beyond a single restaurant through consulting, education, media partnerships and future hospitality concepts while maintaining the personal connections that define his work today.
Above all, Chapman hopes The Rooted Table becomes known not simply for excellent food, but for creating relationships—between farmers and chefs, guests and communities, tradition and innovation.
As his new venture begins, Chapman believes success will ultimately be measured not only by the meals served, but by the conversations, partnerships and memories created around the table.
“The company may carry my name,” Chapman says in the interview, “but it is being built through community.”
That philosophy may be the strongest ingredient in everything still to come.
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
