Professional Speakers

Chef Rick Tramonto is scheduled to speak after Gale Gand and close the Luncheon at a prestigious Country Club in Chicago. The audience will consist of women from the country club and Chef Tramonto will give a thirty minute presentation followed by a book signing of one of his most recent books. Everyone involved is extremely excited to meet both Rick and Gale and listen to their phenomenal experience and success in and out of the kitchen.

Rick Tramonto’s 25-year restaurant career has been a climb to the stars. “Tramonto is a blend of mad scientist and magician in the kitchen. He is innovative, creative and somewhat an illusionist,” described Pat Bruno of the Chicago Sun-Times.

As culinary director and executive chef of Cenitare Restaurants LLC, Tramonto’s new restaurant management and development company, he opened four new concepts in the Chicago market in autumn 2006 with longtime culinary partner Gale Gand, including Tramonto’s Steak & Seafood, Osteria di Tramonto, the RT Lounge and Gale’s Coffee Bar. He will be opening one additional location in Rosemont, IL and two more locations in Schaumburg, IL in 2008. Tramonto continues his role as executive chef with pastry chef Gand at their world-renowned culinary masterpiece four-star Mobil Tru, in partnership with Rich Melman, chairman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises.

Thanks to his unbridled creativity, Tramonto has garnered international attention and a host of prestigious awards. In 1994, Food & Wine recognized Tramonto as one of the Top Ten Best New Chefs in the country, one of the highest culinary achievements that a new chef can attain and in 1995, he was recognized as one of America’s Rising Star Chefs by Robert Mondavi. Tramonto’s vision propelled the four-star Mobil, five-diamond AAA restaurant Tru to be named a Relais-Gourmand property by Relais & Chateaux in fall 2002, Tramonto being one of the youngest chefs ever inducted to the coveted list. Four-star Tru (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Magazine) was named the most popular Chicago restaurant by the Zagat Survey while Chicago Magazine awarded Tru Best Restaurant in their 2002 and 2004 Dining Awards. Tramonto’s history with The James Beard Foundation Awards is exemplary, being named Best Chef: Midwest Region in 2002, following up on a Best New Restaurant nomination from The Foundation in 2000. His commitment to a culture of highest possible standards of guest service in his restaurants has earned consecutive nominations for the Outstanding Service Award by the Foundation, securing the Award in 2007. Tru was the recipient of the 2003 IVY award by Restaurants & Institutions, inducted into Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2004 Fine Dining Hall of Fame and has been honored with the Wine Spectator Grand Award, one of the most highly coveted acknowledgements in the food and wine industry, every year since 2004.

Because of his star quality, Tramonto has been praised everywhere from newspapers including USA Today, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and People magazine to international lifestyle publications such as Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Wine Spectator and Conde Nast Traveler. He has a history of television work as well, appearing on “Oprah”, “Today”, “CBS This Morning” and the TV Food Network. He has also worked extensively with PBS, having appeared on the “Chicago Great Chefs” series, the “Great Chefs Great Cities” series and most recently the forthcoming, “At the Chef’s Table”.

Tramonto is an accomplished cookbook author. His first book, “American Brasserie”, written with Gand, hit the shelves in October 1997 and was named as a finalist for the Julia Child Cook Book Awards through the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Their second book, “Butter Sugar Flour Eggs”, was released in October 1999 and nominated for the 2000 James Beard Award for the Best Cookbook in the Baking and Desserts category. In October 2002, Random House published “Amuse-Bouche”, which features the little bites Tramonto has become known for and in November 2004 he released “Tru: A Cookbook From the Legendary Chicago Restaurant”. He is currently working on his next book on small plates, Italian-style, “Fantastico!”, to be released in 2007.

A spokesperson and consultant for many well-known companies and products including Nestle, Sunkist, the Chef’s Catalogue, Calphalon, Prosciutto di Parma for the Italian Consortio, Illy Coffee and ISI North America, he is also a board member of the Culinary Vegetable Institute and is on the National Board of Chefs of the American Culinary Institute.

For more information on Chef Rick Tramonto, please call Brooks International at 303-825-8700.