EP 83: Chef Rocco Whalen: Grit, Gratitude and the Evolution of Fahrenheit

Join me for a conversation with Chef Rocco Whalen just two days before the biggest and boldest project of his life would take flight. In this minimally-edited episode, you will find yourself injected into the manic mind of a chef and entrepreneur days away from the realization of a dream. In June, 2023, Chef Rocco Whalen presided over his final dinner service at Fahrenheit Tremont. It was a special place that anchored a growing neighborhood for 21 years, giving a young Cleveland kid the canvas to develop into one of Cleveland's most recognized and regarded culinary pros in the midwest. One month later Rocco, with wife and partner Alexis Dankovich, and a close team of culinary and hospitality pros, opened a new downtown Fahrenheit at 55 Public Square, activating a space that sat vacant for years and turning it into the new see-and-be-seen spot that food writer and critic Doug Trattner called " the new culinary epicenter of downtown Cleveland." Enjoy a sneak peek of what the new Fahrenheit has to offer mixed with musings from a local guy who just wants to do right by the city he loves. This episode is presented with support from Chef Douglas Katz and the Katz Group of Restaurants and The Mohicans Luxury Treehouse Resort and Wedding Venue.