
A native of La Grange, IL, Bailey Sullivan is Chef di Cucina of the award-winning Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio, a contestant on Season 22 of Top Chef and she was named a Rising Star by Starchefs in 2021.
Bailey was born into the hospitality industry and has always known she wanted to cook. Her dad has owned Goldyburgers, a storied burger joint and beer garden, for over four decades, however, it’s not where Bailey got her start in the kitchen.
While earning her Bachelor’s Degree from Kendall College, Bailey 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, Sarah Grueneberg, chef/owner of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio.
After graduation, Bailey 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 “Top Chef” finalist.
Bailey 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 and executive sous to her current role as chef di cucina. Known for embracing seasonal produce and global flavors with an Italian hand, Bailey has earned a reputation for embracing the “atipica” side of Italian cuisine—blending tradition with bold, whimsical twists.