Lydia Shire (born 1948) is a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based chef and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

Early life and education

Born in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and raised in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, in the United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton, A ...

, both of her parents were illustrators. Shire began cooking as early as age four alongside her father. In 1971, she enrolled at

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The instituti ...

in London. She considers Jasper White to be her mentor,Favorites
and "her best cook friend in the world."

Career

When she returned from London, she became a line cook at

Jacky Robert Jacky Robert (born 13 September 1950) is an American chef who helped to create fusion cuisine in the 1980s. He is the cofounder, with Martha Castano, of the non-profit OnBoardForKids.Org Early years Born in Granville, Manche, France, Robert bega ...

Maison Robert Maison Robert was a French restaurant in the Old City Hall section of Boston from 1972 until it closed in 2004. Kerry Byrne of the ''Boston Herald'' described it as "the city’s center of sophisticated dining and power lunches … was widely con ...

. Within three years, she became head chef in 1974. Shire went to work at Seasons in The Bostonian Hotel in 1982 which led to national recognition and a

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

"awarded (her) the coveted "Who’s Who of Food & Beverage" award in 1984." It was here that she first met Jasper White. She worked under him as Executive Sous Chef and left, in 1985, as the Executive ChefGreat Chefs
/ref> - the Bostonian's first female chef. In 1986, Shire went to Beverly Hills to open the Four Seasons hotel becoming the "first female Executive Chef in the

Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Four Seasons Hotels Limited, trading as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, is an international luxury hotel and resort company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Four Seasons currently operates more than 100 hotels and resorts worldwide.Da ...

Company to open a luxury property." She returned to Boston and in 1989

Biba Biba was a London fashion store of the 1960s and 1970s. Biba was started and primarily run by the Polish-born Barbara Hulanicki with help of her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Early years Biba's early years were rather humble, with many of the ou ...

"opened to great fanfare." Biba closed after 9/11 and reopened as Excelsior Restaurant and Shire was hired as Executive Chef. In 1994, she opened Pignoli in the

Copley Plaza The Fairmont Copley Plaza is a Forbes four-star, AAA four-diamond hotel in downtown Boston, Massachusetts managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It stands on Copley Square, part of an architectural ensemble that includes the John Hancock Tower, ...

. When Shire bought

Locke-Ober Locke-Ober (–2012) was the fourth-oldest restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts, after the Union Oyster House (1826), Durgin-Park (1827), and the Jacob Wirth Restaurant (1868). Locke-Ober featured French cuisine and seafood. History The Greek Re ...

with business partner Paul Licari in 2001, she became the historic restaurant's first female chef.

was executive chef for two years beginning in 2001. A ten-year lease was signed which they were unable to renew, forcing them to close. Shire was devastated, saying "They were for me 10 absolutely glorious years.

Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...

ranked us the 18th-best restaurant in the country, and named us to the 21 must-visit restaurants in your lifetime." Since then, she has opened Blue Sky at the Atlantic House Hotel in

York Beach, Maine York Beach is a village within the town of York, Maine, United States. The York Beach area consists of Long Sands and Short Sands beaches on the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Maine. The two beaches are separated by Cape Neddick. Cape Neddick an ...

(closed in 2012), and Scampo in Boston's Liberty Hotel – formerly the

Charles Street Jail The Charles Street Jail (built 1851), also known as the Suffolk County Jail, is an infamous former jail (later renovated into a luxury hotel) located at 215 Charles Street, Boston, Massachusetts. It is listed in the state and national Registers o ...

.Savor Nashville

Honors and awards

* 1984 the

"awarded (her) the coveted "Who’s Who of Food & Beverage" award." * 1992,

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 ...

as "America’s Best Chef – Northeast." * 1992

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

named Shire "One of America’s Top Ten Chefs." * 1994 Shire "earned the prestigious Ivy Award by Restaurants & Institutions magazine" * 1996 The

nominated her as "One of America’s Top Five Chefs" * 2013 ''Restaurant News'' inducted her into their Fine Dining Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Shire is married to former employee Uriel Pineda. They lived in a restored farmhouse in

Weston, Massachusetts Weston is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Weston was 11,851. Weston was incorporated in 1713, and protectio ...

. Currently they live on Marlborough Street in the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

. She has three children with former husband Tom Shire, and a fourth child, Alex, with current husband Uriel Pineda. After cooking in restaurants in Spain, California and other locales, Alex Pineda worked as a chef with his mother at Scampo in Boston and in spring 2021, became the executive chef at The Landing, a seafood restaurant in

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

. He later competed on an

Alton Brown Alton Crawford Brown Jr. (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, chef, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show ''Good Eats'' that ran for ...

-led tournament on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

's ''

Chopped Chopped can have the following meanings: * Chopped and screwed Chopped and screwed (also called screwed and chopped or slowed and throwed) is a music genre and technique of remixing music that involves slowing down the tempo and deejaying. It ...

'', winning his preliminary episode before subsequently being the first chef eliminated in the tournament finale episode.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shire, Lydia 1948 births Living people American restaurateurs Women restaurateurs People from Brookline, Massachusetts Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu American women chief executives American chief executives of food industry companies Restaurant founders James Beard Foundation Award winners People from Weston, Massachusetts People from Boston Chefs from Boston 21st-century American women