Michael Fojtasek

Dallas-born Michael Fojtasek grew up on his mother and grandmother’s Southern cooking and is known for his rich creations. After he worked at 2009 F&W Best New Chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s Son of a Gun in Los Angeles, a Greyhound bus journey through the American South cemented his vision for Olamaie, the Austin restaurant with modern takes on traditional Southern dishes that he opened with fellow 2015 F&W Best New Chef Grae Nonas. Fojtasek also heads the casual chophouse Maie Day at Austin’s South Congress Hotel and is executive chef at The Albert Hotel in the Texas Hill Country.