As the executive chef at Philadelphia’s best authentic German restaurant and beer hall, Brauhaus Schmitz (718 South Street, 267-909-8814) and Wursthaus Schmitz, a German delicatessen and sandwich shop in the Reading Terminal Market, Chef Jeremy Nolen has made it his mission to introduce Philadelphians to the often-overlooked delicacies of Bavarian cuisine, earning rave reviews along the way.

Philadelphia magazine has named Chef Nolen’s cuisine in their annual “Best of Philly” issues, and his recipes have been featured in Food + Wine, Food Republic and The Daily Meal. In a complimentary “Two Bells: Very Good” review, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Craig LaBan wrote, “where it counts most – in genuine flavor – Nolen delivers splendidly…[Brauhaus Schmitz delivers] the satisfaction of Philly’s German tradition come alive again.”

Chef Nolen is at the forefront of modernizing traditional German cuisine and will author the forthcoming Beyond Sauerkraut: New German Cooking (Chronicle, late Fall 2014), a thoughtful exploration of the development and continuing evolution of German food in the United States.

In winter 2015, Chef Nolen will debut Whetstone, a contemporary American restaurant with his longtime Brauhaus Schmitz partners, Doug and Kelly Hager. Whetstone will be a regionally-inspired restaurant and bar featuring in-house pickling, fermenting, house-cured charcuterie and serving a wide range of rustic favorites.

Prior to partnering with owners Doug and Kelly Hager to open Brauhaus Schmitz and Wursthaus Schmitz, Chef Nolen served as sous chef, and later executive chef, at Coquette, where he honed his knack for curing meats and sausages and preparing house-made accompaniments to serve alongside them. Before Coquette, he was a sous chef at 707, and began his career in Philadelphia at South Street mainstay Bridget Foy’s.

Chef Nolen came to Philadelphia by way of Bethlehem’s Gateway Conference Center, where he earned invaluable experience in serving large numbers of guests, as well as Reading, PA’s the Speckled Hen, an English gastropub, and Allentown’s Crown Plaza. At 23, he led the kitchen of Reading’s Liederkranz, a private German club and restaurant. As a member of the club, Chef Nolen grew up eating German favorites, such as sauerbraten and schnitzel, and has enjoyed many Oktoberfest celebrations during his frequent travels to Germany.

Much of Chef Nolen’s passion for food came from his father, Ron, a chef whose devotion to traditional butchery, charcuterie, pasta making and bread baking influenced young Chef Nolen to learn more about traditional, time-honored techniques. An avid traveler, he has visited much of the United States and Western Europe, eating his way through well-known and off-the-beaten path spots, using food as a means of accessing foreign cultures. Today, he resides in Philadelphia with his wife Jessica, who is a pastry chef at Brauhaus Schmitz, and their two children.