Onesto Chef Corinne Kaehler is thinking 'cozy' for restaurant's cocktail pairing dinner

When Corinne Kaehler thinks about her first day with Benson’s Restaurant Group, she notes the happy coincidence that it was also National Margarita Day. Perhaps it was a sign of things to come.

Now Kaehler is executive chef at the company’s Onesto, 221 N. Broadway, where she’s working on a four-course cocktail pairing dinner featuring spirits from Kentucky’s Castle & Key.

Kaehler, who worked her way through several Bartolotta restaurant kitchens, joined Benson’s Blue Bat Kitchen & Tequilaria, 249 N. Water St., three years ago. In September 2022 she moved to Onesto, and in December stepped into the role of executive chef.

The tagline at Onesto is “fresh, modern Italian” and Kaehler embraces the approach, with a nod to tradition. Pasta is made from scratch in-house daily, along with ricotta, sauces and soups. That never changes, but the flavors and favorites might.

Kaehler gives serious thought to her ingredients and how she puts them together, while always looking to bring out their playful side. Calamari is a staple on the regular menu, but she’s excited to add grilled octopus for the upcoming dinner. Her cannoli features a malted mascarpone and amaretto gelato, inspired by milkshakes and updated childhood favorites.

The four-course cocktail pairing dinner on Sept. 19 is limited to 40 seats in Onesto’s upstairs private event space and will feature four spirits from Castle & Key Distillery, which is located in Kentucky’s Old Taylor Distillery.

Cocktail pairings for the event were created with Onesto’s resident mixologist David Kiepert, who worked at Movida and Bass Bay Brewhouse before taking on the cocktail program at Onesto. He makes limoncello in-house, and the house Aperol spritz with passionfruit and sparkling rosé has become one of the most popular this season.

The cocktail pairing menu will include caramelized fennel and brie in crosta with apple ginger whiskey cider, a ricotta gnudi with gin sangaree, grilled octopus with a Boston sour, and cannoli with a white Russian.

Tickets for the dinner cost $95 plus fees and are available at onestocastleandkey.eventbrite.com. Additional information is available on Onesto's Instagram and Facebook pages (@OnestoMKE).

Kaehler, who grew up in Brookfield and lives in Wauwatosa, talked about her background and what inspires her menus.

Mom was her first mentor

I really got into cooking because of my mom. I really liked to help her out in the kitchen. When I was getting out of high school my folks wanted me to go to “real school” and get a degree. So I went (to college) for a year. Then I told my mom I hate this and I have to do something else. I went to culinary school at MATC.

The very first thing I made was chocolate chips cookies from scratch. I followed the directions on the Nestle Tollhouse cookie bag. I have come a long way!

The Wisconsin woman who had a big impact on her career

I definitely have a lot of female chefs I look up to and have worked very closely with. When I was at Joey Gerard’s I met the biggest badass I've ever met, such a culinary leader, Bri (Kapheim). I worked with her for a couple years at Bartolotta, and she helped me become who I am and get the job here. She had been the executive sous chef for the company. Now she’s in Appleton and opened a restaurant there, Spats, with her husband.

What she thinks you don’t get from culinary school

I started with culinary school, and it built a base. But going to class is just learning; you’re not in the heat of it, literally because you’re in a hot kitchen. When you’re in kitchens you’re learning to work with people, be organized with how you're doing things, and then you’re working with time management, and different people and backgrounds. You’re learning things from chefs as well as line cooks. You learn from everyone in the profession. Knowledge doesn’t stop after culinary school, you definitely continue learning. I learn new things every day.

Fresh pasta means made today

The tagline at Onesto is "fresh modern Italian." It influences everything. We make our pastas fresh in-house. I have a guy come in every morning and make pasta. That’s just for the day. I don't keep pasta in my cooler more than two days. When you come in to dine here, you’ll have pasta made that morning. The same thing goes for our sauces and soups.

What she thinks about when creating new menus

Coming in to these dinners and creating new menus I try to focus on what is seasonal now, what is seasonal in Wisconsin. That reflects on our menu. So right now we’re finishing up summer, thinking fall, looking to do our fall menu roll out beginning of October. David and I work together when we do menu roll outs so when a guest comes in they can have a full experience, a seasonal dish while enjoying a beautiful seasonal cocktail.

Why cocktail pairings appeal to this chef

When I think about doing dinners, I’ve done wine, beer, bourbon. However, doing pairings with something like this, an actual cocktail event, it is not something where you’re just getting a little pour. You get cocktails with each course. This definitely feels more welcoming to different people. Not everybody is a wine person or beer person. We are featuring four different spirits, so someone will find something they like and enjoy, and they can come back to Onesto and enjoy again.

Her current fall flavors

Definitely coming into winter and fall I think of more cozy ingredients, warmer and spicier. So for one of the courses in this cocktail dinner we’re using 'nduja butter. 'Nduja is an Italian sausage similar to chorizo, but it has a solid kick to it. 'Nduja ends warmer, spicier, so for one of the courses in this dinner I’m doing nduja butter. When we’re thinking fall menus, especially pasta, you want richer and cozy.

One ingredient she loves no matter the season

One of my favorites that I generally bring up on fall menus is fennel. I love it so much as an ingredient. It is such an interesting ingredient, because it can skew more spring/summer or into fall depending how you prepare it.

I caramelize it like how you caramelize onions for French onion soup. Doing that you pull out the sweetness and mellow anise vibe. Then I pair it with the cheese. The fennel almost comes off sweet with the brie in crosta. That’s my starter.

Dessert is carefully designed

I did some of the sampling of the spirits by themselves when I was doing research. I looked at what do they say, the notes on this particular bourbon or rye, and how can we play off each other. I had some stuff that I really wanted to do, so how do I make it work with the cocktail? We get our gelato from (Sheboygan-based) Baron’s, delivered twice a week. Dessert will feature an amaretto gelato and the cannoli, pairing with the white Russian. It is all desserty and very indulgent for the final course.

What this chef loves about cocktail pairings

Everyone knows what to expect with wine or beer, but cocktails offer so much fun. The basis of this dinner is Castle & Key. They’re (a distillery) coming out of Frankfort, Kentucky. We were featuring a lot of their cocktails for our spring and summer menu, like the gin and tonic. They reached out to us to do this event, and we wanted to feature several spirits — a whiskey, a gin, a bourbon and a vodka. That’s what we will feature.

I feel like cocktail pairings can be a little more out there. You have that flavor of the base spirit, but whatever accompaniments you add to it — your juices, your syrups — that will change the flavor of your cocktail. You have more creativity when it comes to cocktails. It is just a jumping-off point with the base spirit, and it can go savory or sweet.

What you need to know for the upcoming dinner

You hit all the notes with the four different cocktails and pairings. We’re going from an appetizer of the caramelized fennel and brie in crosta, to a ricotta gnudi which is a more freeform gnocchi, or a rustic ricotta dumpling is what I’d call it. We make the house ricotta in-house every day. A lot of our pastas feature the ricotta. ... Then I’m making a grilled octopus with crispy fingerling potatoes and tomatoes and nduja butter ... the flavors are so good. Then the finale is a cannoli with malted mascarpone, like a malt shop with your cocktail, the amaretto gelato and cannoli.

Where you might find her on her day off

I’m usually hanging with my twin sister, and we go to lunch probably. We have our places we go. The Milwaukee Public Market, it is consistent and always good options. We live in Wauwatosa, and I love going to Story Hill BKC. I like The Knick, always reliable, good food. We love some pho restaurants, including Pho 4 You, on 124th and Capitol (in Brookfield). It’s really good.

Fork. Spoon. Life. explores the everyday relationship that local notables (within the food community and without) have with food. To suggest future personalities to profile, email clewis@journalsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Onesto Chef Corinne Kaehler is thinking 'cozy' for cocktail pairing dinner