From top chefs to mixology icons, the Windy City has always been an epicenter for culinary trailblazers. Here, the top 48 local luminaries who call Chicago home.
GRANT ACHATZ AND NICK KOKONAS
CO-OWNERS, THE ALINEA GROUP
thealineagroup.com
DANIEL ALONSO
FOUNDER, BONHOMME GROUP
bonhommegroup.com
JOE FLAMM
PARTNER AND CULINARY DIRECTOR, SANCERRE HOSPITALITY
Now helming both Rose Mary and fellow Fulton Market hot spot BLVD Steakhouse, the native South Sider and Top Chef champ has cemented himself as one of the city’s top-tier toques.
blvdchicago.com
TREMAINE ATKINSON
FOUNDER, CH DISTILLERY
chdistillery.com
RICK BAYLESS
FOUNDER, FRONTERA RESTAURANTS
rickbayless.com
ELISE BERGMAN AND COLLIN MOORE
OWNERS, JUDSON & MOORE
judsonandmoore.com
DAMARR BROWN
CHEF DE CUISINE, VIRTUE RESTAURANT & BAR
virtuerestaurant.com
D’ANDRE CARTER AND HEATHER BUBLICK
FOUNDERS, SOUL & SMOKE
soulandsmoke.com
BELINDA CHANG
FOUNDER, STUDIO 8H PRODUCTIONS
belindachang.com
THAI DANG
OWNER, HAISOUS VIETNAMESE KITCHEN
haisous.com
DIANA DÁVILA
CHEF AND OWNER, MI TOCAYA ANTOJERÍA
mitocaya.com
BILLY DEC
FOUNDER AND CEO, ROCKIT RANCH PRODUCTIONS
billydec.com
AMARIT DULYAPAIBUL
PARTNER, SUSHI-SAN, RAMENSAN AND THE OMAKASE ROOM
sushisanrestaurant.com
ZACH ENGEL
CO-OWNER AND EXECUTIVE CHEF, GALIT
galitrestaurant.com
JODI FYFE
FOUNDER AND CEO, THE PARAMOUNT GROUP CHICAGO
theparamountgroupchicago.com
ROBERT GARVEY
OWNER, ROBERT’S PIZZA & DOUGH COMPANY
robertspizzacompany.com
STEPHEN GILLANDERS
EXECUTIVE CHEF/OWNER, S.K.Y., APOLONIA, VALHALLA
@stephen.gillanders
SARAH GRUENEBERG
CHEF/PARTNER, MONTEVERDE RESTAURANT & PASTIFICIO
monteverdechicago.com
BRIAN JUPITER
EXECUTIVE CHEF/PARTNER, PIONEER TAVERN GROUP
The chef at Ina Mae Tavern and Frontier has been impressing us for years, and now the rest of the nation is catching on, as the New Orleans native bested the field as the 2022 champion of Food Network’s Chopped.
@chefjup
STEPHANIE IZARD
EXECUTIVE CHEF AND OWNER, GIRL & THE GOAT, LITTLE GOAT, DUCK DUCK GOAT, SUGARGOAT
stephanieizard.com
ROB KATZ AND KEVIN BOEHM
FOUNDERS, THE BOKA GROUP
bokagrp.com
BEVERLY KIM AND JOHNNY CLARK
CHEFS AND CO-OWNERS, PARACHUTE AND WHEREWITHALL
parachuterestaurant.com, wherewithallchi.com
RICH LABRIOLA
FOUNDER, STAN’S DONUTS & COFFEE
stansdonuts.com
DOMINIQUE LEACH
CHEF AND PITMASTER, LEXINGTON BETTY SMOKEHOUSE
lexingtonbetty.com
RACHAEL LOWE
DIRECTOR OF BEVERAGE OPERATIONS, LEVY RESTAURANTS
levyrestaurants.com
MATTHIAS MERGES
CHEF AND OWNER, FOLKART RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT; COFOUNDER, PILOT LIGHT
folkartmanagement.com; pilotlightchefs.org
ZUBAIR MOHAJIR
EXECUTIVE CHEF/OWNER, WAZWAN/THE COACH HOUSE BY WAZWAN
wazwanchicago.com
JULIA MOMOSÉ
PARTNER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR, KUMIKO
barkumiko.com
LEIGH OMILINSKY
PARTNER AND HEAD PASTRY CHEF, RADICLE FOOD GROUP
The pastry chef extraordinaire takes a buzzworthy next step as one of the leaders of the growing group behind Daisies.
daisieschicago.com
DAVID MORTON
FOUNDER, DMK RESTAURANTS
dmkrestaurants.com
CARRIE NAHABEDIAN
CO-OWNER AND EXECUTIVE CHEF, BRINDILLE
brindille-chicago.com
BRAD PARKER
FOUNDER, PARKER HOSPITALITY
parkerhospitality.com
OLIVER AND NICOLAS POILEVEY
CO-OWNERS, OBÉLIX
obelixchicago.com
DOUG PSALTIS AND HSING CHEN
CO-FOUNDERS, EAT WELL HOSPITALITY
eatwellhospitality.com
DAVID REKHSON AND LUCAS STOIOFF
CO-FOUNDERS, DINEAMIC HOSPITALITY
dineamic.com
CARMEN ROSSI
PRINCIPAL CEO, 8 HOSPITALITY
8hospitality.com
STEPHEN SANDOVAL
OWNER, ENTRE SUEÑOS AND DIEGO
@chefsand
MONA SANG
EXECUTIVE CHEF, KHMAI FINE DINING
khmai-fine-dining.com
JENNER TOMASKA AND KATRINA BRAVO
OWNERS, ESMÉ/BAR ESMÉ
esmechicago.com
GREG WADE
MANAGING PARTNER, PUBLICAN QUALITY BREAD
publicanqualitybread.com
Photography by: FROM TOP: PHOTO BY MATT HAAS; PHOTO COURTESY OF PIONEER TAVERN GROUP; PHOTO BY NEIL BURGER
