Top Chef: Where Are They Now? Stephanie Izard

 

Girl Power!

Stephanie Izard was the season 4 winner, and the first female winner of Top Chef. She had a great run on the show, and is the only winner to ever also claim the title of “fan favorite,” voted on by viewers of the show.

Before Top Chef, Izard graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Scotsdale. She spent some time in Arizona before moving back to the Chicago area where she grew up. There, she landed a job at Vong, a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant. She bounced around Chicago some more, and then when she was 27 she opened her own restaurant, Scylla. It received accolades and great reviews, but it closed just three years after it opened.

Following her top chef win, Izard teamed up with Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz, with whom she opened Girl and the Goat in Chicago in 2010. It’s a Mediterranean restaurant which serves food “nose to tail style,” meaning they use everything. On the menu you’ll find duck tongue and pig face. The place is noted as one of the best restaurants in Chicago and was nominated for a James Beard award in 2011. Shortly after, Izard opened Little Goat Diner, and she has plans for a third restaurant, Duck Duck Goat, in the works.

In 2012, she published “Girl In the Kitchen: How a Top Chef Cooks, Thinks, Shops, Eats, and Drinks” with fellow Top Chef contestants Dale Talde and Heather Shouse. She also has a line of sauces and rubs, called “The Flavor.”

Izard had a career before Top Chef, but she’s been quite successful since her win. It’s always nice to see a fan favorite go such a long way!

Check back for more as we look back at cheftestants from one of our favorite shows!

Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com

Filed Under: