{"id":51245,"date":"2026-10-13T17:54:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T17:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/51245\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T17:54:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T17:54:18","slug":"owner-of-coralville-restaurant-is-iowas-2026-chef-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/51245\/","title":{"rendered":"Owner of Coralville Restaurant is Iowa’s 2026 Chef of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to\u00a0Chef Cory Barrett of Coralville! The owner and head chef at Barrett’s Quality Eats has been recognized by the Iowa Restaurant Association as Iowa’s Chef of the Year for 2026!<\/p>\n

About Cory Barrett<\/p>\n

Before moving to Iowa, Ohio-native Cory Barrett traveled all over the country working in the restaurant industry.\u00a0A post from the Iowa Restaurant Association reads:<\/p>\n

“For nearly three decades, Cory\u2019s culinary career has been shaped by a willingness to say ‘yes’ to opportunities that challenge him to learn and grow. That journey has taken him through acclaimed kitchens in Michigan, Las Vegas and Cleveland, nearly seven years working with Michael Symon, some 17 appearances on Iron Chef America, three James Beard Award semifinalist honors and a decade spent teaching culinary arts.”<\/p>\n

Cory settled in Eastern Iowa in 2022 to open his own restaurant, which he called ‘Barrett’s Quality Eats.’ He saw a lot of potential in the area, and wanted to showcase the “rich and vibrant” local food culture. The Corridor Business Journal quotes Cory’s statement from the official press release, which reads:<\/p>\n

“When we moved here to build Barrett\u2019s, we saw an unbelievable opportunity\u2014not just to open a restaurant, but to plant roots in a community that genuinely cares about good food, local sourcing, and warm hospitality.”<\/p>\n

Three years after opening, Barrett’s Quality Eats is still going strong!<\/p>\n

About Barrett’s Quality Eats<\/p>\n

Located at 3242 Crosspark Road in Coralville, Barrett’s Quality Eats opened its doors in the Corridor back in July of 2023. The business is a combination of a bakery, a coffee shop\/cafe, and a sit-down restaurant, and is best known for its daily brunch and fresh-baked pastries. Customers especially seem to love\u00a0the ‘Deep Dish Cinnamon Rolls,’ which are only available on Saturday and Sunday mornings.<\/p>\n

\"Barrett'sBarrett’s Quality Eats via FacebookBarrett’s Quality Eats via Facebook<\/p>\n

In addition to breakfast and lunch favorites, Barrett’s Quality Eats also features dinner service Tuesday through Saturday night. The menu features a variety of appetizers, salads, pasta, pizzas, steak, pork chops, seafood dishes, and more, as well as signature cocktails, wine, and beer. You can check out the current menu options on the Barrett’s Quality Eats website HERE.<\/p>\n

Barrett’s Quality Eats is open daily for brunch from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Tuesday through Saturday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner.\u00a0The restaurant also offers catering, which you can read more about HERE.<\/p>\n

Additional Award Winners<\/p>\n

Chef Cory Barrett isn’t the only Iowan to be recognized by the Iowa Restaurant Association in 2026! Here are some of the other award winners the organization has announced:<\/p>\n

Emerging Hospitality Leader of the Year –\u00a0Chef Bartholomis Manning of\u00a0Martini’s Grille,\u00a0BurlingtonRestaurateur of the Year –\u00a0Simon Goheen of Simon’s, Des MoinesRural Restaurant Operator of the Year – Gwen Page of Whatcha Smokin’ BBQ + Brew,\u00a0Luther<\/p>\n

The Iowa Restaurant Association also honors women in the hospitality industry with their annual ’40 Women to Watch’ list. The Eastern Iowans on the 2026 list include:<\/p>\n

Arianna Whetstone\u00a0of Dodici\u2019s Shop, WashingtonAshley Williams of\u00a0Martini’s Grille,\u00a0BurlingtonFaith McRae of\u00a0LongHorn Steakhouse, WaterlooJackie Gonzalez of Montage, Cedar FallsJaimie Kahle of Big Ass Cookies, Van HorneJaymie McGrath of I’ll Meet You There, Cedar RapidsMalayah Zanders of\u00a0The Fun Station Quad Cities, EldridgeMarcela Barrera of\u00a0The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, Cedar RapidsMcKayla Peake of\u00a0Hyatt Regency Hotel & Conference Center, CoralvilleMelanie Abu-Nameh of\u00a0Feedwell Kitchen & Bakery, Cedar RapidsMissy Walton of\u00a0Lebowski\u2019s Bar & Grill, RobinsMolli Torres of\u00a0The Merrill Hotel,\u00a0MuscatineSamantha Peyton of\u00a0Elmcrest Country Club, Cedar Rapids\"98.1READ MORE:\u00a0It\u2019s Soup Season! Who Has the Best Soup in the Corridor? [GALLERY]The Best Cinnamon Rolls in Eastern Iowa (UPDATED 10\/2\/26)<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Courtlin<\/p>\n

Eastern Iowa’s Top Coffee Shops on National Coffee Day<\/p>\n

In honor of National Coffee Day (September 29th), I used Google Reviews to find the top coffee shops across Eastern Iowa!\u00a0These are the coffee shops in our half of the state that have 4.7-stars or higher with 50 or more reviews on Google:<\/p>\n

Gallery Credit: Courtlin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations to\u00a0Chef Cory Barrett of Coralville! The owner and head chef at Barrett’s Quality Eats has been recognized by the Iowa Restaurant Association as Iowa’s Chef of the Year for 2026! About Cory Barrett Before moving to Iowa, Ohio-native Cory Barrett traveled all over the country working in the restaurant industry.\u00a0A post from the Iowa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[242,4979,4977,4975,4978,4976,6548,554],"class_list":["post-51245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-iowa","tag-food-and-drink","tag-iowa","tag-iowa-dining","tag-iowa-food","tag-iowa-grocery-stores","tag-iowa-restaurants","tag-khak-morning-show","tag-local-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dc\/117434886632438446","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}