Private chef · Chicago
Flavors of the world, served at home.
Intimate tasting menus and grand occasions, cooked by a chef with twenty-five years of hospitality behind every plate.
Inspired by the Mediterranean and decades of exploration, Izzy pairs ancient ingredients with a sophisticated hand. Traditional preparations, local Chicago produce, and a quiet tour of the world in every course.
From formal events to backyard gatherings.
Private dining
A tasting menu, written for one table.
Six to eight courses, composed around your occasion and your guests. Cooked in your kitchen, plated at your table, with pairings if you’d like them.
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I
The conversation
The occasion, the guests, what you love, what stays off the plate.
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II
The menu
Drafted for you alone, refined until it reads like your evening.
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III
The evening
Every course cooked and plated in your home, so you never leave the table.
Events & catering
Twenty guests or ten thousand. One standard.
As Director of Catering at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry, Izzy led events of up to 10,000 guests with teams of up to 500. Over seven years with Sodexo, one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, he also ran food service for the entire New Orleans public school district. Scale is where he’s most at ease.
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Private celebrations
Milestones at home or at a venue: plated, family style, or stations.
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Corporate & club events
Banquets, receptions and member nights, with menus, staffing and room plans handled.
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Kitchen consulting
Menu development, costing and team training for kitchens cooking at volume.
- Years in hospitality
- +25+
- Guests at a single event
- 10,000
- Meals served daily
- 25,000
- Largest team led
- 500
The chef
Issa “Izzy” Abunimeh
More than twenty-five years in kitchens, and very few of them small.
Seven years with Sodexo meant food service at a scale few chefs ever see: 25,000 meals a day for Chicago Public Schools, galas of up to 10,000 guests at the Museum of Science and Industry, and every school in the New Orleans district.
Since then he has cooked live for university students, shown off luxury kitchens to their buyers, and cooked tasting menus in clients’ homes under his own name. Today he is Executive Chef at Alpine Country Club, leading a kitchen of seventeen.
The full career
- 2023 – now
Executive Chef, Alpine Country Club
Round Lake, IL. A kitchen of 17, new menus and systems, club events for up to 250.
- 2021 – 2023
Owner & Private Chef, Chef Izzy
Six-to-eight course menus in clients’ homes across the Chicago metro.
- 2016 – 2021
Exhibition Cook, Chartwells Higher Education
University of Illinois Chicago. Dishes designed and cooked live for students.
- 2016 – 2017
Performance Chef, Pirch
Gourmet cooking on luxury appliances for buyers at high-end developments.
- 2013 – 2016
Chef, Events A-La-Carte
Menus for events at private homes and commercial venues.
- 2008 – 2013
Chef, Catering Manager & Trainer, Hospitality One
Trained 10+ new hires a week; supervised banquet and event staff.
- 2001 – 2008
Sodexo
Operations Manager, New Orleans Public Schools · Director of Catering, Museum of Science and Industry · Food Service Manager, Chicago Public Schools.
Associate’s Degree, International Food & Beverage Service, Notre Dame Center · ServSafe Food Service Sanitation Manager, Illinois (through 2029) · BASSET certified · NutriKids Menu Planning
Contact
Tell Izzy about your evening.
The date, the guests, the occasion. He’ll come back to you with ideas.
- Emailezyfood1@gmail.com
- Phone773 · 459 · 9460
- Instagram@chef_izzy_chicago