Hudson native fires up dishes in Hell’s Kitchen

by Charles Cassady

The hit Fox television cooking show Hell’s Kitchen made a household name of fearsome chef (and holder of three Michelin stars for his UK restaurant) Gordon Ramsay. If you count the original British incarnation of the program, which premiered in 2004, then the Hell’s Kitchen franchise turns 20 this year. And, a Hudsonite was one of the ingredients for the milestone.

Michael Lovano, executive chef for the Medina Country Club, was among the guest stars/victims for the cycle of fresh shows that started airing in September. He endured the trials-by-fire (or oven burners) in episodes shot at the Foxwood Resort Casino in Connecticut in May.

Of the famously demanding and much-bleeped Ramsay, Lovano said “He is one of the best chef-mentors I have ever met. When you make a mistake, he tells you – and he also tells you when you’re 100% right in what you’re doing. … He is definitely an aggressive character.”

Lovano was born after his parents relocated to Hudson from San Francisco.

“[I] lived in Hudson until I was 18. That’s when I went to the University of Akron,” he said. “I got a degree in hospitality management, and I got a degree in business management as well.”

But the ground-floor education for the future executive chef was Hudson’s One Red Door restaurant (succeeded this year by Porta Rossa), where Lovano found youthful employment as a dishwasher. Lovano said he always helped his family with cooking at home, and when he confided to owner Shawn Monday his serious interest in culinary arts, promotion to a slot “on the line” was granted.

Lovano worked not only at One Red Door but also Monday’s associate restaurant Flip Side. In Akron, he additionally held positions at the Diamond Deli and Jilly’s Music Room. An especially auspicious engagement was four years cooking at Lola Bistro, in downtown Cleveland, under Food-Network-royalty chef Michael Symon.

What drew him to the Medina Country Club? “It was the ownership and it was the culture out there,” he said. 

Bill Cosgrove, president and CEO of Union Home Mortgage, purchased the golf club and restaurant in 2022, and that, as Emeril Lagasse might say, kicked it up a notch.

“Everyone in Medina wants to push the boundaries and make theirs better than all the other country clubs in the area,” said Lovano.

Country-club restaurateurship, he said, “definitely is a difficult challenge [which is] catering to what the members want.” Chef Michael forms close relationships with his regular diners and, “I get to educate them in different styles of cooking and plates.”

His own personal focus is Mediterranean fare, of which his lamb-rack special is most prominent. “My signature dish on Hell’s Kitchen.”

Lovano was one of 18 chefs to appear on the new season, after applying via a social-media casting call. He found it just as much a networking opportunity among his fellow maestros as a chance to compete in Ramsay’s exacting cooking challenges. The guests – all head chefs in their venues – hailed from Hawaii to California to Florida. But only one other, Lovano said, had Midwestern roots (Indiana). Lovano said he felt he had an important role in representing this region, as well as Hudson.

What struck him most about doing the iconic program? “It was surprising how fast we got through the show, and how quick the turnaround was from film to production to airplay,” he said. “There was really no way to know what was coming next.”

In other words, no scripting or contrived situations, unlike other “reality” shows.

Lovano said he hopes to come back for future Hell’s Kitchen engagements and has been serving a series of “launch party” meals at the Medina Country Club, “with dishes I made on the show.”

Also on his menu are a number of special, pop-up events featuring Lovano and friends from the food sphere, to be held at various local locations. As to whether a Hudson appearance is on the table, he said, “There’s a good chance. … I will try to make one as close to home as I can.” 

To get advance notice of these Chef Michael specials, Lovano urges his fans to follow his social media posts. Find him via @chef_michael_lovano on Instagram and on Facebook via facebook.com/michael.lovano.7.

Photo Caption: Michael Lovano, head chef at Medina Country Club, cut his teeth as a line cook at the former One Red Door. Photos submitted.