Restaurant Spotlight: Tullibee - A Discussion with Executive Chef, Marque Collins

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos by Rebekah Poppen

Chef Marque Collins

Executive Chef Marque Collins leads the food and beverage program at Tullibee, a Scandinavian-influenced Midwest restaurant located inside the Hewing Hotel in the North Loop at 300 N Washington Avenue. We talked to him about the culinary philosophy at Tullibee, the Leave it to The Chef menu choice and the importance of collaboration.   

Q:  Can you share your journey to becoming the Executive Chef at Tullibee?

A:  Sure, the journey for me started in Florida. I started cooking when I was in my twenties, after college. I moved to Chicago, worked my way through the industry for seven years and then moved to Des Moines to Aparium’s Surety Hotel at their restaurant, the Mulberry Street Tavern. I was Executive Chef when they opened their property in Des Moines. I moved here two and half years ago in 2022.

Q:  How would you describe the culinary philosophy at Tullibee?  

A:  The first idea at Tullibee is to source as many ingredients as locally as we can and then we have the Scandinavian influence - a lot of the preservation, pickling, smoking and curing – those mindsets and processes are how we approach our dishes. This region is so similar to the growing season in Scandinavia. There is not a long growing season here or there – how to stretch the produce, preserve it, how to use it differently and still make it beautiful are very similar mentalities in both areas.

Every item does not have to be immediately identifiable as Scandinavian – there’s no lutefisk – but we do try to have an influence in each dish that speaks to the Scandinavian culinary inspiration. Maybe part of the dish is preserved or smoked. It’s Midwest cuisine with a nod to our Scandinavian similarities.    

Roasted lambQ:  Can you tell us about a signature dish on the menu and the inspiration behind it?

A:  Sure – one of the ones we’ve had on the menu for a while now is our roasted lamb. We source our lamb from a great local farm in Elgin, Minnesota - Hidden Stream Farm - we brine it, fill it with pistachio and fenugreek. After cooking, we crisp it in our wood-burning oven and top it off with wild rice and pickled salsa verde. That dish is a great example of what we’re about. It started with the lamb from this farm and we thought, how best can we use it? Then we added in the wild rice, hand harvested in Minnesota. The pickled salsa verde is from all local producers. The ingredients build upon themselves. 

Q:  How often does the menu change?

A:  We try to do bigger changes in the spring and fall. Besides that, there are a lot of incremental changes throughout the year. You’ll see changes to the tasting menu, or dishes or ingredients changing in and out throughout the year.  

Q:  Can you tell us about a culinary risk you took and how it paid off for you?

A: I think our Leave it to The Chef is a good response. We didn’t know how it would be received. We try to sell it as an Omakase – a Japanese phrase that means "I'll leave it up to you" - a tasting menu. Put yourself in the hands of the chef and we’ll take care of it. I think for some people it is exciting because they don’t have to make any decisions. For some people it’s a little daunting because they’re going to get things they would not normally try. But when people do order the Leave it to The Chef, we serve dishes that are not down the middle - they will get food choices they would not normally try. There is usually a vegetable, a protein and some preparation that they frequently remark that they haven’t tried or probably would not have ordered and in fact, they end up loving the dish. It is served in five or six courses. We’re pleased on how popular it has become.

Q:  How do you continue to learn and grow as a chef?

A:  Collaboration helps a lot. There are a lot of great chefs in town and I try to work with them as much as possible. The internet has changed everything. It’s easier to be connected to chefs that aren’t physically here. One of our dishes is based off a dish from a Toronto restaurant, Canoe. They did a version of a stuffed trout. We then did a version of a stuffed trout, based on their interpretation. That kind of connectivity is so different from the past. The chef there, Ron McKinlay, is so talented. Their menu is all Canadian-focused and using traditional techniques. He's looking at what we’re doing too. It’s just great to collaborate and learn with other chefs.

Q:  How may we follow your news?  

A:  Follow Tullibee at our website and on Instagram. Follow me on my Instagram too.

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