This has been a very good year for 31-year-old Colby Garrelts. Food & Wine Magazine named him one of the country's "Ten Best New Chefs," which not only provided national exposure for the culinary school dropout but also kept his Westport restaurant packed every night of the week. Garrelts owns the 18-month-old Bluestem with his wife, Megan (a talented chef in her own right who was recently honored with an "Award of Excellence" from Wine Spectator), but he says the two don't have time to bask in the media attention. "There's no room for ego here," he says. "We're really glad to get the public attention, but we're still striving to get to the level we want to be. And we're not there yet." Still, Garrelts has found the right place for his culinary perfectionism, and he thinks he's finally found his own style: "food that is clean, concise and makes sense." His fans would say that his style is better defined by its elegance, imagination and attention to the smallest detail. More than that, it consistently tastes as good as it looks. Jennifer Maloney
