Carrie Nahabedian (born July 22, 1958) is an American chef best known for her work at the one

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

restaurant NAHA in Chicago, Illinois. She has previously worked in a variety of restaurants, and while at NAHA, she won a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

in 2008.

Biography

Growing up she was influenced in her cooking by her mother, but also by

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Julia Child Julia Carolyn Child (née McWilliams; August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was an American cooking teacher, author, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, '' ...

. She later described watching Child as "like watching an artist painting". Nahabedian started her culinary career with a three-year apprenticeship at the

Ritz Carlton Hotel The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates the Hotel#Luxury, luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 conference and resort hotels, luxury hotels a ...

in Chicago. She then moved to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

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, to become assistant chef to the garde manger at the

Resorts Casino Hotel Resorts Casino Hotel is a hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Resorts was the first casino hotel in Atlantic City, becoming the first legal casino outside of Nevada in the United States, when it opened on May 26, 1978. The resort comp ...

when it first opened. She moved back to Chicago to work at Le Perroquet before moving onto a variety of restaurants in Europe before returning to the United States where she became the first woman to work at Chicago's Le Francais. She went on to work at a number of other Illinois-based restaurants. In 1989, she became sous chef at the

Four Seasons Hotel Chicago Four Seasons Hotel Chicago is a hotel in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is part of Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The hotel occupies the 30th through 46th floors of the 900 North Michigan building on the Magnificent Mile ov ...

, going on to become executive chef, which was her first time at that level. She stayed within the Four Seasons Hotels chain, moving to the Four Seasons Hotel Biltmore. After eight years in California with the hotel chain, Nahabedian returned to Chicago to open her restaurant NAHA. It would go on to win a

and continues to hold one as of the 2012 edition of the guide.

Awards and honors

In 2008, Nahabedian was awarded the

for the Great Lakes region.

Mayor of Chicago The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and r ...

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named September 22, 2009 in honor of Nahabedian, the same day that she was inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museum's Chefs Hall of Fame. Naha was given four AAA Motor Club diamonds for the first time in 2012. As of the 2012 edition of the Michelin Guide, Nahabedian is one of only ten female chefs in the United States to hold a

Personal life

Nahabedian is of Armenian descent, due to her Armenian grandmother Rose.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahabedian, Carrie Living people 1958 births American chefs American people of Armenian descent Chefs from Chicago American women chefs Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants James Beard Foundation Award winners 21st-century American women