Duffy and business partner Michael Muser to address private club industry in Chicago
For Immediate release
Chef Curtis Duffy and Michael Muser, co-owners of Michelin-starred restaurant Ever and After lounge, will speak at the National Club Association’s National Club Conference, May 7-9 at the Union League Club of Chicago.
Subject of the documentary film “For Grace,” Duffy worked in the kitchen of the New Albany Country Club, Ohio, while in high school. He learned to cook while working at several private clubs—experiences he says helped transform his life after a tumultuous childhood laced with personal tragedy.
Duffy has won numerous accolades. Ever was awarded two stars in the 2021 and 2022 Michelin Guides, and Duffy’s previous restaurant, Grace, earned three Michelin stars from 2015 to 2018. Before that, Duffy earned two Michelin stars at Avenues at The Peninsula Hotel Chicago. He has been awarded Forbes Travel Guide’s Five-Star rating, AAA’s Five-Diamond rating, and the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef, Great Lakes award. He sits on the advisory board of the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, which awards a $25,000 scholarship in his name. His culinary and philanthropic efforts led to his induction into the prestigious Disciples d’Escoffier International.
Michael Muser is a 30-year veteran of the restaurant industry and an accomplished sommelier. Food and Wine Magazine named him a Sommelier of the Year in 2014. He has worked side-by-side with Chef Curtis Duffy since 2009. Together they opened Ever in Chicago’s Fulton Market neighborhood in 2020 and After cocktail lounge next door in 2022.
Muser’s attention to detail is relentless and exacting. His motto is: “This is not what you do. This is a representation of who you are.”
Duffy and Muser will speak at the National Club Conference on Tuesday, May 9. Hosted by the National Club Association at the Union League Club of Chicago, the Conference is the definitive national forum for private club presidents, board members, general managers/CEOs and executives, showcasing prominent thought leaders and solutions providers with extraordinary networking and recreational events.
Other speakers include:
- David M, Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General and founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative.
- Michael Scimo, 2019 Medinah Club President and Boardroom Club President of the Year.
- Jahmal Cole, CEO/founder of Chicago nonprofit My Block My Hood My City.
- Nicholas Schreiber, founder, Old Barnwell Club.
- Club and industry leaders from across the United States.
And more. Sessions will offer continuing education credits.
Registration is now open; visit NationalClubConference.org for rates, details and accommodation information, along with sponsorship and exhibitor information. Limited sponsorships and exhibitor space remain.
About NCA
The National Club Association (NCA) has been the advocate for the private club industry in Washington, D.C., for more than 60 years. As the voice of private clubs on Capitol Hill, NCA ensures that club concerns are forefront when legislative and regulatory issues affecting the industry are being decided. In addition, NCA provides club leaders an outstanding array of resources on club industry trends, governance best practices, legal and operational matters and ways to strengthen club leadership. nationalclub.org.
For more information, contact Kim Fernandez, CAE, vice president of communications: [email protected].