Green Bay, Wisconsin, chef Christopher Mangless cooks dinner parties for private clients and throws concerts and band meals at his combination event space and once-a-week restaurant Three Three Five. Cooking in this century-old brick building and former grocery, at 335 North Broadway, he honors the farmers and makers of Wisconsin by mining their produce at the Green Bay Farmers’ Market for dishes like lamb meatballs from Pinn Oak served with grits, olives, raisins, and mint, or asparagus from Twin Elm Farm, served with coppa, egg, feta, pine nuts, and watercress.

Mangless left his hometown of Green Bay to study culinary arts at Denver’s Johnson & Wales University and did a stint with chef Norman Van Aken, who brought “New World cuisine” to the forefront in Miami. Mangless had been throwing dinner parties and catering on the side for years, giving him the nickname “The Traveling Chef.” And then the kid who learned his baking chops from his grandfather, who owned a bakery, decided to come home to cook. He started his own catering company, The Traveling Chef, and fixed up that old building to found the Three Three Five space. He cooks for many bands passing through town (like Norah Jones and her crew), and hosts dinner/concerts regularly, combining his passions for both food and music. And on Wednesdays everyone is invited in for a regular restaurant day.

Mangless still takes his food on the road, of course, catering events in other locations and even taking it to the source. In 2018 he went table to farm, hosting a dinner at local Waseda Farms with Outstanding in the Field.