Stephanie Izard, James Beard “Best Chef: Great Lakes” recipient 2013, and 2011 Food & Wine “Best New Chef,” is the Executive Chef/Partner of three of Chicago’s most-celebrated restaurants: Girl & the Goat, Little Goat Diner, and Duck Duck Goat.
Born in Chicago and raised in Stamford, Connecticut, Stephanie attended the University of Michigan followed by Scottsdale Culinary Institute in Arizona, before returning to Chicago in 2000 to pursue her culinary career. After cooking at various Chicago restaurants for some of the city’s best chefs (Jean-Georges Vongerichten at Vong; Sean McClain at Spring; Dale Levitski at La Tache) she opened her first restaurant, Scylla, in Bucktown in 2004. A few years later, she had the opportunity to compete on Bravo’s Top Chef. Izard was the first female winner, and is the only winner in the show’s history to take home the title “Fan Favorite.” It was shortly after Top Chef that the idea for Izard’s Goat brand was born and she met her business partners Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm of Boka Restaurant Group.
In addition to her restaurants, Izard launched a product line called This Little Goat, consisting of cooking sauces and spice mixes available for purchase for the home cook. Izard’s first book, “Girl in the Kitchen,” was released in the fall of 2011 (Chronicle). More information on Stephanie can be found at www.stephanieizard.com or follow her @StephAndTheGoat .
