…a self-described “Navy brat”, has traveled the world and all fifty states, sparking an intense interest in food which led him to attend Johnson & Wales University.
In 2004 Elliot was named one of Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” and at age 27, went on to become the youngest chef in the US to receive four stars from a major publication (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times). His creative fine dining work at Avenues at the Peninsula Hotel also earned him three James Beard nominations.
“Food to me, in one word, is ‘creativity’ or ‘expression.’ It’s simply, ‘This is who I am at this point in time, and this is what I want to cook for you.”
In May 2008, he opened his eponymous restaurant, which went on to be awarded two Michelin stars, one of only fifteen in the country.
The same year, Chef Elliot earned a spot on Crain’s Chicago Business list of “40 Under Forty”, putting him in an elite club that included luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama, for whom Elliot had the privilege of cooking on the President’s 49th birthday.
In 2009, Elliot appeared on the TV show Top Chef Masters. In the show, he cooked for The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a charity with which he became associated as a result of his nephew’s need for a heart transplant.
In 2010, the series MasterChef premiered, with Elliot as one of the three host judges. In 2013, the series spun off a child version of the program, MasterChef Junior, on which Elliot also was featured as a judge. After ten seasons working side by side Gordon Ramsay, Elliot departed to become a judge on Bravo’s Top Chef.
In 2012, Elliot was named Chef of the Year and inducted into the Chicago Chefs Hall of Fame. Additionally, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel proclaimed September 19 “Graham Elliot Day” in the city of Chicago.
Since February 2018, Elliot continues to operate his first restaurant project in Asia, Coast at MGM Cotai.
Chef Elliot has also worked as the Culinary Director at Lollapalooza, a three-day music festival in Chicago, every year since 2009, where he oversees the food offering for 100,000 confer goers daily as well as cooking backstage for the headlining performers. He has had the opportunity to cook for such luminaries as Eminem, Radiohead, Outkast and Soundgarden.
