Mike Bagale

• Sous-chef at Alinea
• Age: 31
• From: Raised in the South
• Lives in: Lincoln Park

Bagale belongs to the culinary think tank behind one of the most innovative—and disciplined—kitchens in the world. (His latest creation: a floating green-apple taffy balloon filled with helium.) Outside Alinea, he’s a rugged, high-energy guy—the kind who runs up to ten miles a day and catches back-to-back redeyes for two-day surfing trips. “When I’m done with work, I have to get away, and I have to be active,” he says.

In the market for: A no-drama woman who doesn’t obsess over trends—or what other people think. “I like girls who are headstrong,” he says.

Conversation starter: Movies. He studied filmmaking at Ryerson University in Toronto.