Stephanie Izard facts for kids

Stephanie Izard is a famous American chef and TV star. She is best known for being the first woman to win the cooking show Top Chef. She won the fourth season of the show.

Stephanie Izard owns and runs several popular restaurants. These include Girl & the Goat, Little Goat, and Duck Duck Goat in Chicago. She also has restaurants in Los Angeles and Silicon Valley. In 2013, she won a special award called the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef: Great Lakes." This was for her amazing work at Girl & the Goat. She has also appeared on Top Chef many times as a judge. In 2017, she won the title of Iron Chef on the show Iron Chef Gauntlet. She beat other famous chefs like Bobby Flay to earn this title.

Early Life and Education

Stephanie Izard was born in Evanston, Illinois, near Chicago. She grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. Her parents helped her become interested in cooking from a young age.

She went to the University of Michigan and earned a degree in sociology in 1998. After that, she studied cooking at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Scottsdale. She finished her culinary studies in 1999.

Stephanie's Cooking Career

After finishing culinary school, Stephanie Izard worked in Phoenix, Arizona. She cooked at places like the Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. In 2001, she moved back to Chicago. She worked at a restaurant called Vong. There, she met other chefs and friends. One of them was Heather Shouse, with whom she later wrote a cookbook.

She also worked at other well-known restaurants in Chicago. These jobs helped her learn many different cooking styles.

Her Restaurants

In 2004, when she was 27, Stephanie Izard opened her first restaurant. It was called Scylla and was in Chicago's Bucktown area. The restaurant was named after a creature from Greek myths. Scylla focused on seafood and unique sweet-and-savory dishes. It quickly became very popular and won several awards. However, Izard closed Scylla in August 2007.

After winning Top Chef, Izard teamed up with business partners Kevin Boehm and Rob Katz. Together, they opened Girl & the Goat in Chicago in 2010. This restaurant has a unique menu with Mediterranean influences. It is known for using all parts of an animal in its dishes.

Saveur magazine called Girl & the Goat "America’s Best New Restaurant." In 2011, Food & Wine magazine named Izard a "Best New Chef."

In 2011, Izard announced plans for a second restaurant, Little Goat. This restaurant opened as an upscale diner. It offered breakfast all day and helped expand Girl & the Goat's bread-making program.

In 2015, she opened her third Chicago restaurant, Duck Duck Goat. This restaurant focuses on Chinese-American food.

In July 2021, Stephanie Izard opened her second Girl & the Goat location. This one is in Los Angeles, making it her first restaurant outside Chicago.

In April 2023, Little Goat moved to a new location in Chicago's Lake View neighborhood. The goal was to make it feel more like a classic diner.

TV Appearances

Winning Top Chef

Stephanie Izard joined the fourth season of Bravo's Top Chef. This season was filmed in Chicago. She won the competition, becoming the first female winner of the show. She received a $100,000 prize. During the season, she won many challenges. In the final round, she created a four-course meal that impressed the judges.

She also won the "Fan Favorite" award on the Top Chef Season 4 Reunion Special. This gave her an extra $10,000. For a long time, she was the only Top Chef winner to also win Fan Favorite.

Other Shows

In April 2012, Stephanie Izard was featured on Hulu's A Day in the Life. The show followed her through a typical day at her restaurant.

Izard also appeared on Food Network's Iron Chef America. She competed against Iron Chef Michael Symon in a bread-making challenge. In 2017, she competed in the first season of Iron Chef Gauntlet. She won the final round, beating famous chefs like Bobby Flay and Masaharu Morimoto. This earned her the special title of Iron Chef.

She has also been a guest judge on other cooking shows. Sometimes, she appears on Guy's Grocery Games as a judge or a competing chef.

Other Projects

In October 2011, Izard released her first cookbook. It was called Girl in the Kitchen. To promote the book, she went on a "Goat Tour" across the country. In each city, she cooked with a chef friend. These dinners helped raise money for Share Our Strength. This organization helps feed hungry children, a cause Izard supports.

In 2016, Izard started a product line called This Little Goat. It includes bottled sauces and spice mixes. These products are inspired by different foods from around the world.

Personal Life

Stephanie Izard lives in Los Angeles with her son, Ernie. Ernie was born in 2016.

Awards and Honors

• 2013 James Beard Foundation Award "Best Chef: Great Lakes" Winner
• 2012 James Beard Foundation Award "Best Chef: Great Lakes" Nominee
• Listed as one of the "Top 10 Chefs to Follow on Twitter" by Bon Appétit Magazine