Carrie Nahabedian
Carrie Nahabedian
Brindille
Cooking at:
Chicago Gala Dinner
A native of Chicago’s northern suburbs, Chef Carrie Nahabedian began her career as a teenager, working in the kitchens of the Ritz Carlton. Her celebrated path has taken her from Le Perroquet, Jovan and Le Francais to LaTour at the Park Hyatt, and ultimately, a hard-earned title as Executive Chef, Four Seasons Hotels in Chicago, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
With her invaluable education in hospitality, Chef Carrie and her restaurateur cousin, Michael Nahabedian, opened NAHA in November of 2000. Her Mediterranean-inspired American cuisine earned a Michelin Star for seven consecutive years, a James Beard Award for “Best Chef, Great Lakes”, and four stars by Phil Vettel—the highest rating given by the legendary Chicago Tribune critic.
In April of 2013, Carrie and Michael opened Brindille—offering refined Parisian cuisine, a celebration of their love of French culinary traditions, techniques and flavors. Hailed as the “Best Restaurant to Open in 2013” by the Chicago Tribune, Brindille was later awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for “Outstanding Restaurant Design, 2015” for the work of Tom Nahabedian and the Bureau of Architecture and Design.
On September 22, 2009, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley named it “Carrie Nahabedian Day”, coinciding with her induction into the Chicago Chefs Hall of Fame, and in 2016, Chef Carrie was awarded the Jean Banchet Lifetime Achievement Award. On March 31, 2018, NAHA closed after eighteen years, just as Brindille celebrated its fifth anniversary on Clark Street.
With the closing of her beloved NAHA came the opening of a new restaurant, Kostali—which opened in 2020 in the fifth-floor lobby of The Gwen Hotel. This new offering from the illustrious team highlights the great coasts of the Mediterranean in the menu and through Michael’s perfectly selected wine list. Yet another page in an incredible culinary history, further securing Chef Carrie’s place as not only a pioneer of the past, but an active participant in the future of hospitality.
