'I like where I am right now': how Chef Gregory Leon built Milwaukee's Amilinda restaurant through beautiful chaos.
Chef Gregory Leon, owner of Milwaukee's Spanish and Portuguese-inspired restaurant Amilinda, isn't your typical success story.
In fact, his culinary journey began far from the Milwaukee restaurant scene he now calls home.
Born in Oklahoma, Chef Gregory spent his formative years living between two worlds – Venezuela and summers visiting grandparents in Oklahoma.
This cultural duality shaped Chef Gregory’s early perspectives on food and community, though his path to culinary success would prove far from linear.
After returning to Oklahoma in '89, Leon found himself drawn to the dynamic food scene of San Francisco, where he would spend the next 18 years.
It was in the Bay Area's high-pressure culinary world of the '90s where his vision of success began to blur.
"In San Francisco, my view of success... I mean, the only success was if you opened your own restaurant," Chef Gregory reflects. "Making shit tons of money and having famous people in your restaurant and all sorts of crazy stuff."
But beneath the glamour of San Francisco's restaurant scene, Chef Gregory was fighting personal battles.
In a strikingly candid admission, he reveals how a severe drug problem nearly ended his culinary career.
"I missed being in a restaurant. I missed cooking," he shares, describing the physical pain of yearning to return to his true passion.
It was this deep love for cooking that ultimately pulled him back from the edge, becoming the catalyst for his recovery.
Today, Amilinda stands as a testament to Chef Gregory’s resilience and vision.
Despite the financial challenges that many independent restaurants face, he finds success in the intangibles – the energy of his space, the satisfaction of his guests, and most notably, the harmony among his tight-knit team of eight.
"I looked at them like, I like all of these people. And I don't want to murder anybody," he jokes, highlighting the rare achievement of genuine workplace camaraderie.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought an unexpected revelation for Chef Gregory about the essence of restaurant work.
Attempting curbside service, he found himself overcome with emotion when seeing regular customers from a distance.
"I noticed the connection of talking to people, the energy in the room, the hearing everybody, the laughing, all that noise, it's like recharging my battery," Chef Gregory reflects.
As our conversation winds down, Leon offers perhaps his most valuable piece of self-reflection.
When asked what advice he would give his younger self, his answer is both simple and profound: "Stop listening to the voices in your head."
It's a reference to the imposter syndrome that has followed him throughout his career, even as Amilinda garnered critical acclaim and James Beard nominations.
For Chef Gregory, success isn't measured in stars or dollars, but in the genuine connections forged within Amilinda’s walls and the quiet confidence that comes from being exactly where you're meant to be.
"I think I'm on the journey I’m supposed to be on," he reflects, "which can different than the journey that you would like to be on."
It's this kind of hard-won wisdom that makes Chef Gregory Leon's story not just about culinary excellence, but about finding authenticity in an industry often lacking it.
As Amilinda enters 2025 with another James Beard nomination, Chef Gregory Leon remains grounded in what matters most – creating genuine connections through food and hospitality!