Meet Joshua

To Joshua Lanning, cooking with fire at its best is not merely an expression of primal heat, intoxicating wood smoke, and juicy unctuousness.

It is also the embodiment of heart, soul, and boundless family love. 

It is the true touchstone for Joshua, whose formidable career has included time at legendary Noma in Copenhagen; sous chef at Michelin three-starred SingleThread in Healdsburg; and culinary director for chef Sean Brock in Nashville. 

With a dream now to impact the culinary and social scene in his hometown of Peoria, Joshua is not merely trading haute tweezers for well-worn tongs. Rather, he is answering his calling, and arguably, his destiny. In an area not necessarily known for culinary prowess, he aims to help put it on the map with businesses and partnerships imbued with both tradition and originality, as well as the spirit of his late-father who sparked the passion in his younger son for the time-honored art of cooking over embers and fire. 

Joshua envisions a place with an intimate property that would allow him to cook through all four seasons, and even grow some of his own specialty ingredients. One day he will carve out a place of honor for his father’s lumbering, 5-ton custom barbecue rig and smoker, which Joshua towed across the country to California and back. 

And it’s where his dad’s pork shoulder and Memphis-style ribs will occasionally be served reverently, based on the hand-written recipes that have been passed down from father to son. 

Joshua’s foundation as a chef may be in fine dining, but the backbone of his childhood was shaped by Midwestern and Southern fare

…especially his mom’s fried chicken and meatloaf, his grandma’s incomparable dinner rolls and chocolate pie, and of course, his dad’s barbecue. It wasn’t until he was 19, though, that he really took to cooking. He’d spend hours in bookstores, hunkered down in the cookbook section, poring over tomes, especially those by Jacques Pepin. One of the first recipes he ever attempted was Pepin’s pate de choux swans adorned with fanciful caramel cages – which he jokes took him an entire day. 

Even so, he knew then and there that he wanted to be a chef. So much so that he made his way to New York City specifically to enroll at the French Culinary Institute, where Pepin was a dean. Meeting his idol was a highlight, as was getting the opportunity to work at such renowned New York establishments as Quality Meats and Casa Mono, before getting hired at Del Posto. 

After eating his way through a barbecue festival in New York in 2006, Joshua realized that the brisket and ribs he grew up on were just as impressive, and encouraged his father to start competing. The next thing he knew, his dad was going up against some of the most seasoned barbecue competitors in the country, and even winning a couple of competitions. 

Meantime, Joshua was on his own remarkable ride, first working as a line cook at The Kitchen in Boulder, where he learned to forge tight bonds with local farmers to procure the best and freshest ingredients; then as a sous chef and pastry chef at the acclaimed June restaurant in Peoria. 

Emboldened perhaps by a beer or two one day, he took the liberty of emailing Noma restaurant out of the blue after growing entranced by its stunning cookbook.

He never expected a reply back, but after pouring his heart into the note, he received an invitation to stage. Maxing out his credit cards, he made the journey. It proved a seminal experience. He learned that not only could he survive in a kitchen that pushed its crew to the brink, but flourish like never before. 

That newfound confidence stayed with him when he came back to the United States for a spell to work before returning to Copenhagen to stage at the well-regarded Amass. When a St. Louis Chef later introduced him to Kyle Connaughton, who was building an ambitious restaurant, inn and farm known as SingleThread, Lanning knew he had finally met someone to call a mentor. 

He packed his Ford Focus and drove to Northern California, where he initially worked as a line cook at noted AQ Restaurant in San Francisco, as construction continued on SingleThread. When its opening finally loomed, Joshua cooked private dinners alongside Connaughton to stoke anticipation and define the experience. 

Toward the end of Joshua’s five-year tenure at SingleThread, his father passed away.

To honor him, he decided to tow his dad’s barbecue rig from Illinois to California, and along the way, to compete in his first barbecue competition, the prestigious Praise the Lard Barbecue Cook-Off in Murphysboro, IL, one that his dad had never entered. Joshua ended up proudly garnering third place in the brisket category. 

He joined Haus Beverage, an artisan aperitif company in Healdsburg, as research and development chef before home began to beckon. With a family of his own now, including two young daughters, he moved to Nashville in late 2020 to be culinary director for Brock’s company, becoming his right-hand man to help oversee new ventures and projects, as well as menu development and quality control. 

With his return to Peoria, Joshua’s life has come full circle. He’s passionate about cooking the best version of the food he grew up with along with more progressive yet still accessible dishes. He wants to contribute to the local community, give back life lessons and partner with individuals who have similar values. 

“Years ago, I told myself that I was going to go work for the best, so when the time came to choose what I wanted to do, I would be ready and do it well,’’ he says. “This is exactly what I’ve worked for.’’

“Josh Lanning is a talented and incredibly versatile chef. 

I had the pleasure of working with him for several years in opening and running SingleThread, taking us from a construction project to a Three Michelin Starred restaurant in just two years. Josh is a thoughtful leader, a true mentor to those he's leading and has a teamwork and collaborative mentality. 

One of Josh's truly unique gifts is his ability to master cuisine from the Three Michelin Star level to very casual cooking. He's as passionate about top level cooking in the world's best restaurants where he's been as he is about BBQ and casual, approachable cuisine. 

His exceptional level of integrity, honesty, and commitment to his craft make him a true leader in our industry."

— Kyle Connaughton, Chef and Owner at SingleThread Farms