The Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame is pleased to announce their ninth annual event featuring the induction of Chef Stephanie Izard for Chef of the Year, Chef Gale Gand for Pastry Chef of the Year, Chef Michael Kornick for Legendary Chef, Phil Stefani as Industry Leader, and Larry Levy as Industry Legend into the Chefs Hall of Fame for 2014.
These five culinary innovators, all steeped in Chicago’s epicurean past, present and future, will be formally inducted at an event open to the public which will serve as a gala fundraiser for the Chicago Culinary Museum. The 2014 Chefs Hall of Fame event will take place from 5:00pm to 9:30pm on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at Castlelocated at 632 North Dearborn in Chicago, Illinois.
This event will not only honor the inductees, but it will also promote and celebrate Chicago’s culinary preeminence and raise funds for the Chicago Culinary Museum. The evening will feature an open bar, wandering feast prepared by top local restaurants and past chef inductees, silent auction, raffle, and awards presentation. Tickets are now on sale. Discounted presale tickets of $99 per person may be purchased through August 31, 2014. On September 1, tickets will be $125 per person and $149 at the door, if available. Tickets may be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com, keywords: Chefs Hall of Fame.
Previous inductees into the Chefs Hall of Fame include the late Chef Charlie Trotter in 2006, Chef Jimmy Bannos in 2007, Chef Rick Bayless in 2008, Chef Carrie Nahabedian in 2009, Chef Art Smith in 2010, Chef Priscilla Satkoff in 2011, Chef Graham Elliot in 2012 with Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, and in 2013 Chef Paul Kahan,Chef Alain Roby, Richard Melman, Chef Hans Aeschbacher, Chef Jean Banchet, and the late Chef Louis Szathmary.
About the 2014 Chefs Hall of Fame inductees:
Chef Stephanie Izard is a James Beard “Best Chef: Great Lakes” award winner and the Executive Chef and Partner of two Chicago restaurants, Girl & the Goat and Little Goat. Izard was the first woman to win Bravo’s television culinary competition “Top Chef”. Her West Loop restaurant, Girl & the Goat has been praised by high-profile publications such as Saveur, New York Times, Food & Wine, Better Homes and Gardens and others. “The culinary scene in Chicago is amazing right now and I am happy just to be part of it!” exclaimed Chef Stephanie Izard with regard to her induction into the Chefs Hall of Fame. “To be recognized in the hall of fame among other chefs I look up to, is a huge honor.”
Chef Gale Gand is a nationally acclaimed pastry chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, television personality, teacher, entrepreneur, and mother. Chef Gand has been recognized as Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year by The James Beard Foundation and by Bon Appetite magazine. Gale’s latest restaurant project, Spritz Burger, is a collaboration with The Hearty Boys, (Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh) who won Food Network’s reality competition “The Next Food Network Star”, season one.
Chef Michael Kornick is a nationally recognized leader in the culinary arts. In 1998 Kornick, together with his wife Lisa, opened mk, the restaurant. Since opening, the restaurant has been acclaimed by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, and Chicago magazine, all recognizing mk with a three-star review. In 2009, Michael Kornick partnered with David Morton to open DMK Restaurants, the group that owns 3 DMK Burger Bars, Fish Bar, Ada Street, County Barbecue, DMK Burger & Fish and Henry’s Swing Club. Although known primarily for his accomplishments as a chef, Michael Kornick has developed into one of the country’s leading restaurateurs.
Phil Stefani began The Phil Stefani Restaurant & Signature Events Group success story in 1980 when he opened Stefani’s on Fullerton Avenue. With great popularity came expansion and the opening of Lino’s and four Tuscany restaurants. All of these restaurants serve authentic Northern Italian cuisine. Over the past thirty plus years, Phil Stefani Restaurants & Signature Events has become a household name for top quality food and service in Chicago. Phil Stefani now owns and operates over fifteen restaurants and private event venues including: Tuscany, Riva, Crystal Gardens, Chango Loco, Navy Pier Beer Garden, Castaways, The Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush, Phil
Stefani Signature Events, and Tavern on Rush.
Larry Levy is a Founder and a Managing Partner of Levy Family Partners, a family investment office that oversees a broad portfolio of public and private investments, with an emphasis on hospitality, real estate, and technology companies. In 1978, Larry built Levy Restaurants from a single delicatessen in Chicago into an internationally recognized specialized food service organization with the market leading share of high-end sports and entertainment facilities throughout North America and Europe and a network of acclaimed restaurants. Under Larry’s stewardship, Levy Restaurants pioneered the concept of premium dining in sports and entertainment venues. From its initial start of catering the skyboxes at the Chicago White Sox’s stadium in 1982, the company has grown to become a full food service provider to 79 sports and entertainment locations across the globe including convention facilities, music/performance venues, stadiums and arenas for all major sports leagues.
About the Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame:
Founded in 2006 by Chef John Kaufmann and the late Chef John Castro in conjunction with the Chicago Chefs of Cuisine Association, Inc., the Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame was created to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Chicago chefs, food manufacturers, restaurateurs and hoteliers, while promoting and celebrating Chicago as a culinary Mecca. In order to preserve and foster Chicago’s rich and diverse culinary history, the museum is dedicated to providing educational programs for all ages. It is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose goal is to raise funds and awareness in an effort to establish a physical museum in Chicago. For more information on the Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame, please visit www.thechicagoculinarymuseum.org.
