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Chef Dave Ellis

Name: Chef Dave Ellis
Address: Grand River Avenue, Williamston, Okemos, MI, 48895, US
Telephone: +15178814165
Rating: 5

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Chef Dave Ellis

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Chef Dave Ellis, Caterer, Grand River Avenue, Williamston, Okemos, MI.

Creating fusion foods with local ingredients
∙ Catch local pop-ups and cooking at Sunnyside Cafe in Williamston, Mi
∙ Available to book for small gatherings and private events

01/30/2023

The burger I would’ve made at the end of “The Menu”

Here I have a classic burger with a beet hummus, roasted red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, purple kale, sweet potato, pickled red onions, goat cheese, tomato, and arugula.

12/27/2022

I’ve been silent lately as my life has shifted gears and transitioned into its next phase. If you know me personally then you’re aware of what I’ve been up to, for those that don’t, I have returned to my families restaurant with the opportunity to fully focus on creating specials. SunnySide Cafe has been apart of the Williamston community for almost 18 years and has always been family owned and operated. It’s a continuation of my grandmother’s restaurant that she ran for 13 years in Milford starting in the 70s.
On the bright side I have plenty of interesting content to share and to start here’s a taste of what I’ve been working on.

House-Smoked Pork Breakfast Tacos with sweet potato, onion bacon jam, pickled onions, scallions, cojita cheese, and a crema made from a reduction of the pork jus.

Sweet Potato Waffle with fried pears, Rumchata whip cream, apple syrup, and candied bacon.

Pumpkin Pie Stuffed French Toast with a pumpkin cream cheese filling and topped with a pumpkin frosting and glaze.

Seasonal Root Hash with beetroot, rutabaga, sweet potato, onions, peppers, and a spinach/beet green mixture.

Butter Pecan Cinnamon Roll with a maple bourbon brown butter cream sauce, butter pecan syrup, and topped with candied pecans.

Elvis Pancake topped with fresh bananas, peanut buttercream, and candied bacon.

11/21/2022

It was love at first sight when I first saw the stuffed donut creation. My favorite was fruity pebbles themed. It used a fresh locally made donut filled with a strawberry sauce, fruity pebbles, and ice cream that is pressed in a special contraption that makes to donut warm while the ice creams stays soft. I knew I had to recreate it!

I started off with one of my freshly baked cinnamon rolls and cut it in half, topping it with a cinnamon honey butter and a new Cinnamon Toast Crunch Rolls cereal. I then topped that with my own apple butter glaze & frosting followed by a milk dud powder. After the stage was set I added my large scoop of cookies & cream ice cream and headed to the hot press. I used what I had and pressed it using a mini pie maker. (Not quite the same as is used on the original recipe but that explains the odd shape at the end) After a quick press the sandwich came out exactly as they described, hot on the outside and cold on the inside. Topping it with more glaze, frosting, and powder this little recreation is my new favorite!

Sadly is west coast based and hasn’t spread to the east coast or Midwest yet but I highly recommend following them and enjoying everything they offer.

11/16/2022

Growing up in Michigan one of my favorite fall time memories is going to the cider mill. When you grow up in the area I did, that place is with the freshest cider and donuts! When creating a special seasonal cinnamon roll that captured the nostalgia from those childhood memories, I decided to use all ingredients coming from the mill.
I started off by taking a bushel of fresh apples and cooked them in a cinnamon clove sugar until they were soft and caramelized. I also took an apple butter and turned it into a frosting and a glaze. Next I topped it with a donut crumble that I made from fresh donuts out of the bakery that were twice baked in a cinnamon clove sugar.
Paired with a cup of mulled cider this one really captured the feeling of fall in Michigan.

11/07/2022

This monstrous creation was inspired by those incredibly large Bloody Mary’s that look like they could feed a small family. This behemoth was not for the weak of heart and was called The Strawberry Explosion. It consisted of a double stack of pancakes made from a strawberry batter covered in a strawberry frosting, then topped with cake balls, strawberry pocky sticks, strawberry ice cream, a cheesecake frosting, and a strawberry compote.
By the time this was on its way out of the kitchen I couldn’t help but feeling like Dr. Frankenstein watching my monster come to life.

11/02/2022

These are two of my favorite seasonal special cinnamon rolls I made for the month of October. They both involved a new technique that I discovered thanks to my curious mind and the love of mixing sweet and savory flavors. I thought to myself, “I bet someone has candied pumpkin before.” It turns out candied pumpkin is a tradition that is multiple centuries old.

Candied pumpkin, or Calabaza en Tacha is a traditional Mexican recipe that dates back centuries to pre-Hispanic times when natives of the northwestern state of Michoacán would cook the squash in a fire pit oven with honey. Now a days you can typically find this dish during Día de los Mu***os, a holiday meant to remember, honor, and celebrate departed family members that have passed.

After finding out the long and celebrated tradition of candied pumpkin I knew I had to honor that while also being true to my style.
I started off by breaking down my locally grown sugar pumpkin like I would any squash and then cooking it in a brown sugar simple syrup with some of my favorite spices that consist of cinnamon sticks, star anise, allspice berries, clove, nutmeg, coriander, mace, and peppercorn. Once the pumpkin reached its desired texture I strained it out and set aside some of the remaining liquid to be reduced into a syrup.

This first cinnamon roll I paired the candied pumpkin with a pumpkin crème anglaise, pumpkin spice syrup, and a pumpkin frosting.
The second roll I ran featuring this technique I decided the cover the candied pumpkin in chocolate and paired it with a frosting and glaze I made with pumpkin butter that I got from as well as freeze dried milk duds from Silver Harvest, a local vendor I met through the

11/01/2022

Adventure awaits at every farmers market I find myself at. Last month while stopping by the I was able to get my knife sharpened and repaired while I shopped the local vendors and obtained some seasonal produce including cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, ghost peppers, and Carolina reaper peppers. I also stopped by and purchased a beautiful custom made cutting board that’ll serve as a perfect background for future pictures.

10/25/2022

I absolutely love chorizo and everything it brings to a dish. I’ll never forget my first time experiencing chorizo and I feel obligated to share it with anyone that hasn’t.
This dish is an old favorite and my style in a nutshell. I believe in using new exciting flavors presented in a familiar way to make them more approachable. I call this Chorizo Benedict. I play on a traditional classic but using different ingredients that consist of chorizo, avocado, salsa verde, a soft poached egg, and pickled onions.

10/18/2022

Recently I was able to enjoy a dining experience from the other side of the plate and was invited to a wine dinner hosted by featuring wine from
It was a refreshing experience to sit and meet new people over delicious wine paired with full flavored and thoughtful food prepared by some young and ambitious local chefs.

10/14/2022

I love cooking with lavender and recently I was gifted some delicious lavender cherry granola from and it inspired this beautiful market roll.
To accomplish the flavors and textures I was aiming for I went with a lemon lavender crème anglaise, a lavender blueberry syrup, cherry lavender granola, fresh blueberries, and calendula petals for color.
Crème anglaise is French for “English cream” and is a custard like sauce. I started off by steeping some fresh lavender flower from in heavy cream. Once strained I then slowly added the hot cream to a sugar and egg yoke mixture while constantly whisking. This technique is referred to tempering your eggs. It’s important to whisk constantly and vigorously to gradually raise the temperature of the eggs with out cooking them and making scrambled eggs.
Once all the ingredients are combined I returned the mixture to the pan on a low heat while continuing to whisk. This will allow the sauce to thicken to the desired consistency without cooking the eggs. To avoid cooked eggs it would be best to use a double boiler.
When I was happy with the texture of the sauce I added the zest of several lemons and then put the sauce into an ice bath to drop the temp as soon as possible. I love using this recipe because it’s versatile and simple to change up the flavor to fit whatever recipe being made.
When making the syrup I used fresh blueberries and grapes from Wesenberg Produce, all grown here in Michigan. I made the fruit into a delicious compote and then steeped it with more fresh lavender flower and strained once finished.
This roll has been the most popular and my favorite market roll special to date.

10/10/2022

There’s a fungus among us! Back by popular demand from my market crowd at the here’s my seasonal mushroom gravy. I went back to and decided on a diverse selection of color and texture this time. The gravy included 8 different mushrooms containing: shiitake, cremini, portobello, lobster, royal trumpet, yellow oyster, and chanterelle. I also used dried porcini mushrooms that were rehydrated and allowed for full flavor base.
Fun fact about lobster “mushrooms” is that they aren’t a mushroom at all. They are a parasitic fungus that grows on specific species of mushrooms known as Lactatius and Russula. It turns it’s host into the beautiful reddish orange color and when cooked it looks, feels, and taste similar to lobster.
I was beyond excited to obtain such a diverse selection of fresh fungi to bring intriguing textures and flavors to this dish.

10/05/2022

Bread pudding is one of my favorite go-to recipes when I’m running heavy on seasonal fruit. In my mind it’s a great way to allow ingredients to come together and create magical flavors and textures.
Here’s a recipe that features peaches, blackberries, and blueberry. I also used some extra leftover cinnamon rolls that were repurposed and allowed for amazing flavor. Typically I’d use croissants, but when in Rome use what you have.
It’s important that once all the ingredients are combined that they are allowed to sit, chill out, mingle and mix before it’s baked off. This will enable a more delicious and gooey dish in the end.

Address

Grand River Avenue, Williamston
Okemos, MI
48895

Telephone

+15178814165

Website

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