Graham Elliot
| Born | Graham Elliot Bowles January 4, 1977 Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
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| Education | Johnson & Wales University |
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Graham Elliot Bowles (born January 4, 1977),[1][2] known professionally as Graham Elliot,[3] is a Chicago, Illinois-based chef.
Personal life [edit]
Elliot was born in Seattle, Washington, as a self-described "Navy brat".[4][5] He dropped out of high school at the age of 16 and started out in the food business as a dishwasher and bus boy.[2] He attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University.[5] In the summer of 2010, he changed his name professionally "after a lifetime of confusion and typos", according to his publicist.[3] Elliot and his wife, Allie, have two sons, Conrad and Jedediah.[6] Elliot has another son, Mylo, from a previous marriage.[7]
Career [edit]
Elliot's first position following culinary school was at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, a five diamond/five-star property in Dallas, working under Chef Dean Fearing. He then went to The Jackson House Inn & Restaurant in Woodstock, Vermont. It was there that he was named one of the ten Best New Chefs of 2004 by Food & Wine Magazine.[8][9] Elliot then moved to Chicago to work under the famed Charlie Trotter and Rick Tramonto at TRU. He later toiled at Avenues at The Peninsula hotel, also in Chicago, where he received numerous accolades. Under Elliot, Avenue earned a four-star rating from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Magazine as well as a AAA Five Diamond Award.
In 2007, Elliot faced off against Iron Chef Bobby Flay on the TV show Iron Chef America, with the secret ingredient of chocolate. Elliot put up a good fight but lost to Flay by a total score of 49-47. He appeared on "The Today Show."[4]
In May 2008, he opened the eponymous Graham Elliot, which was his first restaurant and the first bistronomic restaurant in Chicago, Illinois.[9] It has received three stars from the Chicago Tribune, and just received two stars in the 2013 Michelin Guide.[10] His flagship restaurant, Graham Elliot, is just one of two restaurants in the city to hold 2 Michelin stars, with one restaurant having received the top honour of 3 stars. In 2009, he appeared on the TV show Top Chef Masters. In the show, he cooked for The Heart and Stroke Foundation due to his nephew needing a heart transplant. He has been nominated for a James Beard Award three times.[11]
In 2010, Elliot became a judge on the U.S. version of the reality show MasterChef, along with Chef Gordon Ramsay and winemaker/restaurateur Joe Bastianich. He also opened his second Chicago restaurant, Grahamwich. He appeared as the Culinary Ambassador at Lollapalooza 2010, a three-day music festival in Chicago, where he cooked for both the public as well as backstage for the performers. Chicago Magazine published an article in which writer Cassie Walker unflatteringly described Elliot's menu offerings based on samples served at what had been intended as a tasting party for members of the media. Elliot responded by delivering a profanity-laced tweet [12] with insults directed at Walker and the magazine.[13] Despite this incident, Elliott was invited to serve Lollapalooza again in 2011.[14]
In March 2012, Elliot was sued by a former front of the house employee and investigated by the Federal Department of Labor's Division of Wage and Hour over the practice of skimming tips from servers and bartenders and using that money to subsidize the salaries of his kitchen staff. Accusations of violations of state and federal minimum wage law were also raised in the lawsuit. The suit proved to be fairly spurious and was quickly settled. He indeed had asked workers who qualified for tips to voluntarily share their tips with the kitchen staff. No one who didn't voluntarily participate had any tips withheld.[15]
References [edit]
- ^ U.S. Public Records Index Vol 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
- ^ a b Graham Elliot Bowles, Chef, Blackbook, February 11, 2010
- ^ a b Vettel, Phil "Graham Elliot Bowles is just Graham Elliot now", Chicago Tribune blog, July 29, 2010
- ^ a b Front Burner: Graham Elliot Bowles Chicago Magazine, June 2008 issue (accessed June 24, 2011)
- ^ a b Graham Elliot at starchefs.com
- ^ "Graham Elliot Welcomes Son Jedediah Lindsay". People. 2012-08-27. Text "accessdate" ignored (help); Text "2012-08-27" ignored (help)
- ^ "Graham Elliot Is Looking Forward to Fatherhood – Times Three!". People. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ^ Best New Chefs 2004 http://www.foodandwine.com, 2004
- ^ a b Bio:Graham Elliot Bowles at BravoTV.com
- ^ Michelin Chicago Guide 2013: Alinea, L2O, Graham Elliot grab top honors (accessed December 15, 2012)
- ^ "Gordon Ramsay Has A New Fox Show". TV.com. 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
- ^ Graham Elliot Bowles GOES OFF On Chicago Magazine After Lollapalooza Food Criticism Huffington Post, July 22, 2010 (accessed June 26, 2010)
- ^ Kindelsperger, Nick Graham Elliot Bowles Battles Chicago Magazine Grub Street Chicago, July 21, 2010 (accessed June 26, 2011)
- ^ Lollapalooza.com (accessed July 11, 2011)
- ^ "Former waiter sues chef Graham Elliot". Chicago Tribune. March 16, 2012.
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