A native of La Grange, IL, Bailey Sullivan was born into the hospitality industry; her dad has owned Goldyburgers, a storied burger joint and beer garden, for over four decades, however, it’s not where she got her start in the kitchen. While earning her bachelor’s degree from Kendall College, Sullivan interned at the two-Michelin-starred Coastal New England-inspired restaurant Acadia, where she worked both savory and pastry before joining the kitchen at Yusho Logan Square, where she became captivated by Asian ingredients, flavors and the art of ramen. Bailey made the most of the restaurant’s monthly Ramen Battles, which allowed her to meet and cook with some of the city’s best chefs—most notably, her future mentor Sarah Grueneberg, chef/owner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio. 

After graduation, Sullivan worked at the Michelin-starred Parachute for a year before pursuing her deep-rooted love of noodles and a desire to learn the intricacies and art of hand-made pasta and regional Italian cuisine under Grueneberg, the James Beard Award-winning chef and Bravo’s Top Chef finalist on season nine. Sullivan immediately fell in love with Italian ingredients and sensibilities, and over the course of more than eight years, she has worked her way up the kitchen from line cook, sous chef, purchasing sous, executive sous and chef di cucina before her recent appointment to executive chef. 

Known for embracing seasonal produce and global flavors with an Italian hand, Sullivan has earned a reputation for embracing the “atipica” side of Italian cuisine—blending tradition with bold, whimsical twists. Signature dishes include Mangalitsa Pork Belly Pampanella Skewers, smoked pork belly from heritage breed pigs raised by Mike and Michelle DeShaaf at their 1936 Meadowbrook Farm in Benton Harbor, MI, with Corno di Capra peppers, pickled vegetable giardiniera and honey; Skate Wing Schnitzel with Wok-Fried Ramps with Publican Quality Bread’s whole grain sourdough pullman-crusted skate wing, wok fried ramps and spring onions, Calabrian chile, lemon and toasted caraway; Spaghetti alla Chitarra with Sweet Corn and Truffle, guitar string cut spaghetti with sweet corn, Cantabrian anchovy, truffle and parsley; and Cannelloni Saltimbocca with braised lamb, prosciutto, sage, sofrito and Pecorina fonduta.