Background
Graham Elliot Bowles was born in Seattle, Washington, a self-described "Navy brat".
Graham Elliot Bowles was born in Seattle, Washington, a self-described "Navy brat".
He attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University.
He dropped out of high school at the age of 18 and began a career in the food business, as a dishwasher and bus boy. 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, who has no recollection of ever working with him. He then went to The Jackson House Inn & Restaurant in Woodstock, Vermont.
lieutenant was there that he was named one of the ten Best New Chefs of 2004 by Food & Wine Magazine.
Elliot then moved to Chicago to work under the famed Charlie Trotter and Rick Tramonto at TRU. He later worked at Avenues at The Peninsula hotel, also in Chicago, where he received numerous accolades. Under Elliot, Avenues earned a four-star rating from the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago magazine as well as a American Automobile Association Five Diamond Award.
At the age of 27 he was the youngest Four Star Chef to be named in any city, also earning himself a spot on Crain"s Chicago Business list of "40 Under Forty", putting him in an elite club that includes luminaries such as Preseisent Barack Obama, who Elliot had the privilege of cooking for on his 49th birthday. In 2007, Elliot faced off against Iron Chef Bobby Flay on the television show Iron Chef America, with the secret ingredient of chocolate.
Elliot narrowly lost to Flay by a total score of 49-47.
He afterwards appeared on Today. In May 2008, he opened his first restaurant, the eponymous Graham Elliot, which was the first bistronomic restaurant in Chicago. lieutenant received three stars from the Chicago Tribune and two stars in the 2013 Michelin Guide.
The restaurant was one of just three restaurants in the city to hold two Michelin stars.
(Only two Chicago restaurants have received the top honor of three stars) In 2009, he appeared on the television show Top Chef Masters. He has been nominated for a James Beard Award three times.
In 2010, Elliot became a judge on the United States version of the reality show MasterChef, along with Gordon Ramsay and Joe Bastianich. He also opened his second Chicago restaurant, Grahamwich.
He has worked as the Culinary Director at Lollapalooza, a three-day music festival in Chicago, every year since 2010, where he has cooked for both the public as well as backstage for the performers.
In June 2012, he opened Graham Elliot Bistro in Chicago’s West Loop. The bistro uses old-school techniques and ingredients to showcase its take on classic American cuisine. That same year also saw Elliot 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.
From 2013 to 2015, Elliot was a judge for the cooking competition television series MasterChef Junior. In 2016, Elliot joined the judging panel on the Food Network cooking competition show Cooks versus
Cons, hosted by Geoffrey Zakarian.