Kurt Michael Friese

KURT MICHAEL FRIESE (1964-2018) was a chef, author, entrepreneur, food activist, a supporter of sustainable agriculture, and an elected official. He received his BA at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa before graduating from the New England Culinary Institute, where he later was a chef-instructor. With thirty-five years of professional foodservice experience, for twenty-one years he was chef and owner of Devotay, a restaurant and bar in Iowa City, a community leader of sustainable cuisine that supports local farmers and food artisans.

Friese has served on the boards of Slow Food USA, the Iowa Food Systems Council, and the NewBo City Market. His columns and photos on food, wine and travel have appeared regularly in local, regional and national newspapers and magazines. In 2006, Friese founded Edible Iowa magazine, a member of the James Beard Award-winning Edible Communities family of publications. He is the author of the cook-books, Chasing Chiles: Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail (2011), and A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland (2008).

In 2016, Friese ran and won a seat on the Johnson County Board of Supervisors on a platform to preserve farmland and remove barriers local food production. He and his wife sold their restaurant in 2017. Friese was a feeder, a sustainer, and a food person. His sudden death at age  54 was a shock to his friends and family, and to the huge community he was a part of in which he was a bright light.