Colby and Megan Garrelts are the chef-owners of Bluestem (Kansas City, MO) and Rye (Leawood, KS) restaurants. They met in Chicago at Tru where they worked under chefs Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand. Following work in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, they returned to Kansas City and opened their first restaurant, bluestem, in 2004. Colby is a 2013 James Beard Foundation winner, Best Chef: Midwest and 2005" Food & Wine" magazine Top 10 Best New Chef. Megan is a James Beard semifinalist for Best Pastry Chef. They opened Rye restaurant in 2012, which celebrates regional Midwestern cooking. The Garrelts live in Leawood, Kansas with their children, Madilyn and Colin.
