Jason Rickard ’11 and his brother, Jordan, own and run FioRito, a “Midwest Italian” restaurant in their hometown of Wichita, Kan. Every dish at FioRito is made from scratch and uses local ingredients. One of the most popular plates is the Calabrian fried chicken bowl: pasta stuffed with potato and cheddar cheese, accompanied by spicy chicken bites and a sherry wine sauce.
“It’s not a dish you would find in any other Italian restaurant on Earth,” Rickard says.
And it must be good, because the brothers were named James Beard Award semifinalists in the Best Chef: Midwest category.
“You expect James Beard Awards and Michelin stars in places like Chicago,” Rickard says. “But when you move home to Wichita, your first thought isn’t, ‘This is how I win awards.’ It’s like moving out of Hollywood and getting nominated for an Oscar.”
The brothers learned to cook at an early age, motivated by their mom, who was gifted in the kitchen, and their dad … who was not. “My mom also worked a ton, so our options were to either eat canned tuna with raw onion or learn to cook,” Rickard says.
At Northwestern, Rickard majored in political science with an eye toward law school. He joined the debate team, and he and his teammates would watch Top Chef together and then compete to see who could make the best fried rice. “We’d all show up, try each other’s food and vote.”
After graduation Rickard moved to Colorado with his now-wife, Rachele. His brother was working at a restaurant in Kalamazoo, Mich., and suggested he pursue the food world out West.
“I sent an email to all the restaurateurs in the area that said, ‘Hey, I don’t know anything about cooking, but I’d love to try it. Can you give me a chance?’” Rickard says. “I got one response — from a guy who had a taco place opening the next day. They didn’t have a dishwasher.”
Rickard took the job. From there, he worked his way up in the Colorado restaurant scene.
“I love working with my hands,” he says. “Working in restaurants, I found who I am and the things that make me happy.”
In 2021, the brothers decided to open a restaurant back home. They leased a former gas-station-turned-BBQ-restaurant and remodeled it into a 40-seat dining room with a large outdoor space. FioRito opened in 2022.
Jason serves as business manager, while Jordan is the restaurant’s general manager, overseeing FioRito’s 16-person staff. Both Jason and Jordan are executive chefs at the restaurant, and they write the menus together. Spurred in part by the James Beard nomination, they are looking to expand or move to a new location.
“I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my brother, who’s my partner in crime,” Rickard says. “I wouldn't be able to do any of this without my wife. Twelve years ago, when I said, ‘I want to go from working in a law firm to making $8 an hour,’ she just said, ‘OK.’
“I cannot do any of this without our staff,” he adds. “If we didn’t have a really great team, we wouldn’t be nominated for the award. I’m honored that they nominated Jordan and me for Best Chef: Midwest, but I really think it should be Best Chef Team: Midwest.”
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