Made for Michelin: Gallatin College MSU graduate takes culinary talent overseas

BOZEMAN - Brandon Swenson had a limited grasp on the German language, but the applause he received from Michelin-star chefs in Munich last year needed no translation.

As he soaked in the praise on his last day interning for the three-star Michelin restaurant JAN, however, his mind couldn't help but wander to the scrap paper on his nightstand 5,000 miles away in Bozeman.

It was a 7-week-old packing list. Scrawled at the bottom was a message of encouragement to himself, betraying his nervousness and excitement for pursuing his dreams abroad: "Knock 'em dead, baby."

"I was thinking back to that piece of paper like, 'I did it,'" Swenson said. "I did it."

And his culinary career is just beginning. Swenson, a 25-year-old from Bozeman, is invited to return to JAN for three months this summer after graduating in May from the two-year culinary arts program at Gallatin College Montana State University.

The restaurant and its modern German cuisine hold the record for the second-fastest accumulation of three Michelin stars in the world, receiving the highest honor awarded to restaurants only six months after opening in 2023. While Swenson worked there in 2025, JAN's stars were renewed for another year, and it was also the only German restaurant to be included in rankings for The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

Michelin kitchens attract only the most dedicated chefs - the ones who are willing to spend 13-hour days scrubbing the kitchen and preparing edible works of art, Swenson said.

With tweezers and a steady hand, he laid dainty purple flowers and peeled almonds atop glass orbs filled with caviar. He helped plate dozens of JAN's signature caviar dish in the restaurant's cold kitchen, as well as other appetizers and desserts. Each menu item is served within five minutes of completion and is part of a three-hour, 12-course dining experience.

"It's all tweezer fever," Swenson said. "It's so much tweezing, so many garnishes, so many intricate details. It was really hard the first week, but then, after a while, you get surgical."

Surrounded by a smattering of German conversation, of which he only caught every third word, it was like he was in his own world. The restaurant's pastry chef often gave him a word or phrase of the day, however, like "behind" - hinter - or "Can you please repeat that" - Kannst du das wiederholen bitte. His efforts to learn the language and replicate JAN's specific culinary style helped him earn the respect and friendship of his colleagues, he said.

The ability to recreate dishes was a skill he picked up as a 16-year-old who helped care for a full house of five children, quickly absorbing books and videos to make shepherd's pie and tilapia. At first, Swenson's concoctions ranged from undercooked to burnt - time management was not on his radar. But he said he enjoyed the mental challenge. His experimentation continued in college, where he spends nearly 48 hours each week in the kitchen during the school year. Swenson enrolled at Gallatin College MSU two years after earning his high school diploma, realizing he felt more at home behind a stove than in his stepfather's construction company.

The effort Gallatin College MSU students put into their craft is what they get out of the culinary program, said instructor Alex Hrabovsky. He believes Swenson's drive to constantly improve his skills has allowed him to gain a deep understanding of flavors, textures and aesthetic appeal, making a lasting impression with a single bite of food.

"It shows that, even with very little financial backing, you can still achieve excellence through your own work and dedication to what it is that you have," Hrabovsky said. "Have that dream. Move in that direction. It doesn't matter what your background is."

Swenson was independent from his family at age 18, so Gallatin College MSU's affordability was key in earning a degree that would demonstrate his employability to high-end restaurants. He was taught to be self-reliant, having been in foster care for a little over a year and joining four different families as a child before being adopted by his aunt.

"It's you versus the world, essentially. That's the mentality I've had since I was 8," he said. "But the lesson that I've come to recognize is that needing support from others is not a weakness. It's a strength."

A supportive kitchen is especially important at Gallatin College MSU, where students work with peers of all experience levels and styles in class and at Thyme Bistro, Hrabovsky said. As part of the on-campus restaurant, students run their own kitchen and design a full menu for about 60 people every Friday from February to April in Hannon Hall's dining room.

Swenson's first-year menu featured pinwheels of pork mince wrapped in Swiss rolls and bacon, sitting on whipped mascarpone and goat cheese. He said the restaurant provided him with the building blocks for the business side of the food industry, such as managerial skills and calculating purchasing costs.

The experience marked another step toward his "plan A" of taking over a European restaurant once he gains Michelin kitchen experience across countries like France, Belgium and Denmark. But first, he will return to Germany's JAN in May.

"I'm itching to see the front door and just walk right in," he said.