This story originally appeared as part of a series in our May 13-26 print edition. Read the rest of the series here and find where you can get a print edition near you here.
Former jazz guitarist turned James Beard finalist Dave Willocks discovered his culinary skills almost by accident.
“I was a musician professionally ’til I was 24. I was trying to make it as a jazz musician in New York City, and I just wasn’t ready yet. I was too young, too immature. So I got burned out, and decided I was gonna move to California and live on a farm,” he said. “I volunteered to cook when they needed help. Turns out I was pretty good at it, and I enjoyed it. And so my second career began.”
Now 42 years old, Willocks has cooked all across the country showing off his attention to detail. It’s a principle he carried over to his restaurant The Baker’s Table in Newport, where he and his wife stay laser-focused on every aspect of service down to the tiniest minutiae, like the specific paper their menus are printed on or remembering the names of the extended family members of their most frequent customers.
Such intense concentration on keeping up with the little things makes sense when you realize The Baker’s Table is a local rarity, as it’s the sole restaurant in Greater Cincinnati that is tasting-menu-only. Their website boldly proclaims it’ll be the best meal you’ll have all year, and Willocks and crew stop at nothing to achieve that goal. Makes sense, then, that he’s the first James Beard finalist based out of Northern Kentucky in the organization’s 36-year history.
Before he became one of the best chefs in the city, he worked directly with several of the city’s best known names. For example, he worked with Jose Salazar at both Mita’s and Salazar, and then left to help Tom McKenna as he opened his highly-lauded bakery Allez. Given that the number one focus at Baker’s Table is their award-winning bread, it’s not much of a shock to hear that Willocks learned a lot from McKenna.
“Me going to Allez was very much on purpose. I knew that I wanted bread to be a part of my life, and I knew I wanted to learn more by being in an environment where making bread was happening all the time,” he said. “I ran the sandwich program there for about a year, then found out my wife was pregnant. I said to myself, ‘You know what? Why don’t I go crazy and become an entrepreneur now. That sounds smart.'”
Baker’s Table opened in 2018 as a brunch spot serving ricotta doughnuts and fried chicken sandwiches. While it hardly resembled then what the restaurant would later become, the goal remained the same—a menu based on seasonal ingredients sourced directly from local farmers, with 100% of their bread made in-house. And the restaurant’s namesake is still around, too: Willocks purchased a 10-foot-long oak table from Jean Paul, the owner of Paradiso Bakery in Anderson Township, all the way back in 2016.
Within months of opening, Eater named it one of the best new restaurants in the country, as did USA Today—two awards Willocks said they were “very fortunate” to receive, although it was slightly “overwhelming” to receive such a large uptick in business so soon. Eventually, the restaurant added dinner service. They were even successful enough to open a second location across the street called “The Baker’s Table Bakery,” a more casual spot serving up bread, pastries and pizza.
Then COVID-19 happened, and restaurants around the country and the globe suffered. Willocks went back to the drawing board. The bakery closed—although the building now holds a lifestyle boutique ran by his wife, designer Wendy Braun—and the flagship restaurant “migrated towards more creative ways of cooking” as they ceased brunch operations to focus solely on dinner service.
Eventually, the team settled on their current tasting menu style. Every first Wednesday of the month, a new six-course menu debuts: two canapes, and then a choice between two starters, two pastas, two entrees and two desserts. The monthly development process is always a joint effort between their suppliers and the staff.
“We talk to our farmers like, ‘Hey, what’s coming? What will you have next?'” Willocks said. “And then I talk to our team and ask, ‘What are you excited about? What do you want to practice?’ Even, like, ‘What have you seen on TikTok?’ … The chefs definitely lead it. It’s a very collaborative process thanks to our clearly defined structure and system.”
There’s a real murderer’s row of talent working all over the restaurant—a statement that Willocks giggles at for a solid 45 seconds because “we’re all very pacifist.” But it’s hard to think of a better phrase. For example, current general manager Ryan Hastings worked at Michelin-starred restaurant Elske before becoming the GM at the also Michelin-starred Temporis, and the restaurant’s pastry chef Sarah Ouellette helmed The Baker’s Table Bakery to much acclaim and fanfare while it was open.
“We have a really positive environment that prioritizes work-life balance. We don’t do verbal or emotional violence. And everyone that works here gets health insurance after 30 days. A lot of restaurants, you don’t see any of that,” Willocks said. “We just try to broadcast our principles and what we stand for so we can magnetize the right people. If you’re a person that really cares about great food, and really want to serve the best to people, and you love hospitality, those people just tend to find their way here.”
Funnily enough, Willocks finally got his biggest moment of acclaim after he shifted his focus away from critical recognition entirely. He didn’t even know the James Beard nominations were happening when his GM ran up and told him they’re “on the list,” to which he responded, “What list?”
“Something inside me changed two years ago where I just accepted I would never be nominated for anything. And then I realized I didn’t need awards. I don’t need major recognition. I don’t need to be in Cincinnati Magazine‘s top 10,” he said. “Awards or no awards, my primary objective is for everyone to have an incredible experience. I wanted to create an incredible community of regulars. Anything that supports that, I want it, and anything that takes away from that, it’s not so good.”
One way the restaurant is creating that community is through their membership program, which regularly hosts private wine dinners, cocktail parties and plenty of other events for members—in addition to a $200 tab that rolls over every month.
Willocks called it a “life-changing business model,” and noted that over 75 people have signed up.
“We found that a lot of foodies felt lonely. You know, when we talked to people, they were like, ‘Yeah, I love food, but I also like to meet people who love food.’ We create opportunities for them to relate to other people who love food in a social setting,” he said. “But really, our members just love being able to have a night they can trust. Every month here is different and exciting, and no matter what dietary restrictions they have or whether they’re drinking or not, we’re going to make it work for them, no problem.”
While the tasting-menu-only style and membership program has been extremely successful for the restaurant, it also puts a lot of pressure on the team to continually switch it up while keeping the same level of consistently excellent service.
“That’s where maturity comes from, right? Maturity is like, okay, you can do it good this month. Can you do it good next month? Everything was incredible this year, can it be incredible next year? It’s incredible next year, can it be incredible in five years?” Willocks said. “We’re here to blow our guests away and create the restaurant of their dreams … That’s why it’s important to mature as a chef and a business owner, so you can achieve that goal. It’s hard, but that’s the work. That’s the journey every day.”
The Baker’s Table is located at 1001 Monmouth Street in Newport, Kentucky. For more information, visit their website.
This article appears in May 13-26, 2026.
