January Foodie: Laney Glick

Laney Glick ran her first professional kitchen at the age of 22, which isn’t that surprising when you consider her grandmothers essentially turned her into a line cook and pastry chef when she was four. “One sat me on a stool stirring banana bread, and the other had me making scrambled eggs,” says Glick, who, at the ripe age of 26, is the executive chef at The Lemon Bar in Zionsville.

She puts those early lessons to use with all-day breakfast options and seasonal stunners like vegan pumpkin-spice latte French toast. “I love doing food that you think you probably shouldn’t eat, but you’re going to anyway,” she says. She balances those indulgent dishes with lighter fare like the signature Thai chili Brussels sprouts and the restaurant’s top-selling dish, chicken salad with goat cheese, pickled red onions, and champagne dressing. “Tell me you’re from Indiana and you don’t love chicken salad,” she says. “It’s like saying you don’t love corn or ranch dressing.”

Glick grew up in Fort Wayne and graduated from The Chef’s Academy in Indianapolis with a degree in pastry arts. She worked on the line at Bluebeard and was a baker-turned-manager at The Flying Cupcake for owner Kate Drury, who eventually opened The Lemon Bar. Drury was the main draw when Glick took her current position. “Kate’s a strong woman who’s been in the industry for years but trusts me implicitly. There’s a real support network here,” says Glick.

Enjoy Laney’s tomato goat-cheese soup with this recipe.