Team
Sam Plotnick, Partner
“Everything is a collaboration at Temporis. It has to be.”
Sam once snuck a George Foreman grill into his Chicago high school to cook burgers for his friends. At Purchase College, he tricked out his dorm room with a panini press and other cooking tools and nearly got kicked out because of it. Still, he intended to put his economics degree, not his culinary prowess, to use after graduation, but all that changed after he interned at the venerable Les Nomades. Sam spent five years on the line there before deciding to pursue his own venture in a series of intimate pop-up dinners, which led him to open Temporis. Every night in the 20-seat restaurant, he works to recreate that one special dinner party—this time without the George Foreman grill.
Troy Jorge, Executive Chef
“Don’t talk about it, be about it.”
If Troy hadn’t been kicked out of sewing class in high school, he might have been a fashion designer. Even now, his eye for lush color and layered detail shines through in his tasting menu at Temporis. A New Bedford, Massachusetts native, Troy took an interest in cooking during a junior high home ec class. After culinary school, he worked his way up over the next 14 years in some of Boston’s best restaurants, including Clio and Ostra. In 2015 he moved to Chicago to join the Michelin three-star Grace under chef and mentor Curtis Duffy, where he spent two years before joining the two-star Acadia. Off hours, Troy enjoys exploring the city on foot. His New Bedford accent and loyalty to the Celtics remain very much intact.
Jacquelyn Paternico, Pastry Chef
“Dessert is my opportunity to make the best last impression.”
Jacquelyn’s parents were avid home bakers who turned their talent into an Italian-American bakery in their hometown of Rochester, New York. No surprise that by elementary school, Jacquelyn was rolling cookie dough like a pro. After a stint studying textile design, she earned a baking and pastry arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, then moved to Chicago to work her way up the pastry line at Green Zebra, the Waldorf Astoria, Honey’s, The Albert and, most recently, the Michelin-starred brewery Band of Bohemia. Jacquelyn is drawn to the exacting nature of the craft and the transforming qualities of ingredients such as dill, shiso and yuzu. Despite her fine-dining pedigree, she’ll take ice cream and gummies any day.
Laura Bonetti, Captain
“It’s my job to find that honest connection with each guest.”
At 18, Laura left her hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan to study and sing opera in Chicago. In between classes and auditions, she waited tables and found her true calling. She was no stranger to restaurants—her dad owned a pizza joint and her grandpa ran an Italian restaurant—but the more she spent in the thick of it, the more she fell in love with hospitality. After 10 years as a corporate trainer, she joined Temporis and took on the role of mother hen with ease. Laura doesn’t sing much these days, but under the right conditions, late in the dining room, she might.