Cymbeline : The Cuisine
Throughout the summer, Chef Iliana Regan of Elizabeth will feature a selection of vegetable crudités in homage to Cymbeline. One of Shakespeare’s greatest fairy tales, the plot of Cymbeline traverses the wilds of ancient Britain in a bountiful story of love, revenge and forgiveness. Just as Shakespeare presents a richly diverse cast of characters, Chef Regan will present an ever-changing selection of locally sourced vegetables, gently cooked with a variety of techniques.
 
 

 
Chef Iliana Regan
Chef Iliana Regan grew up on a ten acre farm in Indiana. Some of her earliest memories are of food-the smoke house in the barn, her father butchering animals, collecting chanterelles, her mother preserving, canning, seed saving. They homesteaded and foraged before homesteading and foraging became a “thing.”
 
Chef Regan taught herself by way of hands on experience and ambition. At age 15 she began washing dishes and bussing tables at an Italian mom and pop shop finally to move on to salad station. A few years later, at the age of 19, she learned fundamentals at a French Country Cooking Restaurant. Shortly after she moved to Chicago to finish a degree in Fiction Writing from Columbia College and there she began work at some of Chicago’s most acclaimed restaurants. She worked all positions from dishwashing to reservationist, back of the house to floor manager. After she finished her writing degree she began her own business selling fruits and vegetables from her garden in local farmer’s markets and crafted a few hit items. At the age of 28, she developed that business into an underground supper club that landed her to Elizabeth Restaurant where she’s garnered many lovely accolades from Michelin to James Beard nominations and has exceeded every dream she thought possible for her meager roots. She has since opened a bakery due to her obsession for naturally leavened breads and is working on a third project with some of her core staff members.
 

About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Restaurant works with the best seasonal offerings from local gardens, woods, local farmers, fishers, and hunters. Each season is equally represented and even with the winter months, no one season is better than the other. Elizabeth respects their ingredients and the land, highlighting the best of their characteristics. They call their cuisine New Gatherer.