Greg Hardesty

Chef/Owner

Greg Hardesty is the chef-owner of Recess restaurant in Indianapolis. His enjoyment of food began at his family’s dining table where meals and time together were savored. However, cooking took on an increased importance when he was in college and ordered a hand-hammered wok from a TV infomercial and began cooking for his roommates. They liked his culinary efforts and he found that he enjoyed cooking. His career path in the restaurant industry had begun!

Hardesty graduated from Indiana University in 1991 and then began working at the Glass Himney in Carmel, Ind. There he received a solid foundation in continental cuisine that is still evident in his cooking today. Seeking to expand his cooking knowledge, he moved to Loas Angeles in 1995 and began work for Chef Joachim Splichal and his expanding Patina / Pinot restaurant group. Greg moved up to become a sous chef and helped open Splichal’s third Pinot restaurant in Hollywood. During this time he was introduced to the light and simple flavors of Splichal’s cuisine, and the importance of fresh, seasonal ingredients. His next career move was to Drew Nieporent’s Rubicon in San Francisco. As a sous chef there he learned the importance of a well-paired wine with expertly executed food.

In 1999, Hardesty returned to Indianapolis and opened H2O Sushi Bar, where he created food using classical sushi techniques from a contemporary California-French perspective. He opened his second restaurant Elements in 2003 which featured modern American food that married many of the influences of the Mediterranean with the simplicity and clean lines of Japanese cuisine. Elements was named “Restaurant of the Year” by Indianapolis Monthly that same year. Hardesty sold H2O Sushi in 2004 to concentrate on Elements and his two young daughters.

Despite the success of Elements, Hardesty was still not experiencing the culinary freedom he desired in the kitchen. He decided to sell the restaurant and concentrated on developing a format that would allow him to focus all his energy and efforts on the food and service – a restaurant where there were no culinary boundaries. Recess, which opened in 2010, offers a format where Hardesty is free to offer his interpretations on any cuisine he chooses. His menu is a playground for him and flavorful “break” for his customers. Hardesty and his culinary team create a new four-course pre-fixe menu daily that is inspired by the freshest seasonal ingredients from the Hoosier countryside and around the world.