MEET THE TEAM
From their famous all-natural, free-range crispy fried chicken to tart and puckery lemon meringue pie, husband-and-wife/chefowners Colby and Megan Garrelts have spent a decade serving up chef-driven comfort foods based on traditional Midwestern recipes. “The food of the Midwest is the last untold tale of modern American cooking, but it is a central one, ” says Colby, whose family has lived in Kansas for five generations.
The couple opened Rye, their first upscale urban farmhouse concept, in December 2012 in Leawood, KS, to rave reviews. Made in America: A Modern Collection of Classic Recipes (Andrews McMeel Publishing), a cookbook featuring many of the restaurant’s signature dishes, debuted Spring 2015. With the success of their first Rye location, the Garreltses opened a second Rye location on the Country Club Plaza in November 2017. The Garreltses have continued to grow their hospitality brand to include a robust workforce of over 150 employees while simultaneously nurturing the careers of such notable alumni as Andrew Longres (Acre), Laura Comer (The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts), Kelly Conwell (715, Lawrence, KS) and Joe West (vice president of culinary operations for Fine Dining Restaurant Group, Jackson Hole, WY).
Active in supporting a variety of local children’s and culinary charities, including Children’s Mercy, March of Dimes, Harvesters, No Kid Hungry, Joe’s KC Cares Foundation, Cook for Courage, Les Dames d’Escoffier and JCCC culinary efforts, the couple continues to embrace new business challenges. Their latest venture: consulting chef partners for the new KC Current Stadium, the first state-of-the-art facility built for a National Women’s Soccer League team.
The couple’s first restaurant, Bluestem, opened in 2004, and not only helped to redevelop the Westport neighborhood’s culinary scene, but also put Kansas City on the national culinary stage. Bluestem: The Cookbook (Andrews McMeel Publishing) was released in Fall 2011. The elegant, yet approachable fine dining restaurant closed in 2020, but not before it was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Restaurant in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Colby is a 2013 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Midwest award winner and 2005 Food & Wine Top 10 Best New Chef. His cuisine has been showcased in the The Wall Street Journal and on the cover of Saveur Magazine in August 2013. Megan is a James Beard Semifinalist for Outstanding Pastry Chef. Her recipes have been featured in numerous national publications including Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal and Saveur. The couple resides in Leawood, KS, and shares their love of food, cooking, and travel with their two teenage children Madilyn (she likes to bake) & Colin (he likes to cook).
