Here’s how Dave Beran’s weekend went:

The Next chef worked a full dinner service Saturday, arriving at the restaurant at 11 a.m and leaving at midnight. Usually he won’t leave before 2 a.m., so for him it was “a short day at work.”

Beran was in bed by 12:30 a.m., slept for four hours, then biked to the Chicago Marathon site at Grant Park. He ran the full marathon in 4 hours, 11 minutes, 28 seconds, placing 1,447 in his age 30-34 male division. (It was his third marathon this year.)

Then he went home, rested for an hour, and showed up for work at the restaurant around 2 p.m. Beran cooked a full service and didn’t leave until 3:30 a.m.

“The first year I ran the marathon, I was the sous chef at Alinea and had to come to work. Last year I ran the marathon and came to work anyway. So now it’s a tradition.”

Beran’s Twitter avatar is of Mr. Incredible, the lead character from Disney-Pixar’s “The Incredibles.” It's hard to imagine a more appropriate doppelganger.

Next’s next menu: Childhood

This Sunday marks the last night of Next’s three-month Thai menu. After closing a week, they’ll reopen with their most conceptual and Alinea-like theme to date: a menu centering on childhood.

Beran offered us this: “There will be a lot of flavor triggers. It’ll be familiar, but more of an adult menu. This is really my first chance to put my food on the plate. There’s a version of chicken noodle soup that doesn’t look at all like chicken noodle soup when it’s set in front of you. We’re doing a sweet potato pie that basically looks like a campfire stove. For the last two and a half years I’ve always wanted to set something on fire in the dining room, and chef (Grant Achatz) has never let me.”

kpang@tribune.com

Twitter @kevinthepang