Chef Biography
Chef Lydia Shire was born in 1948 in Brookline, Massachusetts. She married and had three children with her former husband Tom Shire. She started waiting tables at the famous Pall Mall jazz club, but cooking and baking were her passion. In 1971, Lydia baked a butter cream cake and took it on an interview at Maison Robert, the great French restaurant in Boston, and got a job as “kitchen grunt”.
But Lydia wanted a spot on the hot line with the boys, so she took a leave of absence, hocked her wedding ring, and went to London to register at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. During the day was school, and at night she partied at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club.
When she returned to Boston and Maison Robert, she worked her way up to head chef, and from 1975, worked in the kitchens of Harvest, Copley Plaza Cafe and Parker House. In 1982 to 1985, Chef Lydia moved over to the Seasons at the Bostonian Hotel to work under Great Chef Jasper White, as executive sous chef, and eventually became the Executive Chef.
In 1986 she moved out to Los Angeles to become the first female chef of the Four Seasons Beverly Hills hotel. That’s where Great Chefs Televisionfirst caught up with her to tape a Chicken Thigh entrée for their Great Chefs of the West series.
In 1987, she returned to Boston to open her famous restaurant “BIBA”. Great Chefs again, in 1994, stopped by to tape her Lobster Crisp at Biba for their Great Chefs of the East series. In 2000, we taped Chef Shire and Great Chef Susan Regis (now at Pava’s) preparing a Roasted Foie Gras Risotto.
After September 11, 2001, Biba’s was closed only to reopen the next year as Excelsior Restaurant, and whose owners hired Chef Lydia Shire as their Executive Chef. She left in 2005 to open and run Scampo’s, one of Boston’s fine Italian restaurants, and in 2013, Restaurant News bestowed another award upon her, by inducting her into their Fine Dining Hall of Fame.
Recipes
Turbot and Tuna with Croustades of Black Olives and Smoked Tomato-Butter Sauce
Serving: 4 Print Turbot and Tuna with Croustades of Black Olives and Smoked Tomato-Butter Sauce By Great Chefs May 1, 2014 The rich tuna, delicate turbot, salty olives, and smoky sauce make this dish a panoply of flavors and textures that excite the eye as well as the palate. The brioche boxes, the sauce, and […]
Lobster Crisp in Water Chestnut Flour
Serving: 4 Print Lobster Crisp in Water Chestnut Flour By Great Chefs May 1, 2014 This is a spectacular dish for a special dinner, although not one for a novice cook or one who is flustered by the prospect of last-minute work. The tempura batter gives an almost translucent look to the lobster and may […]
Roasted Foie Gras Risotto
Serving: 4 Print Roasted Foie Gras Risotto By Great Chefs May 1, 2014 This creamy risotto with its topping of sliced roasted foie gras is the height of luxury, even if you choose to simplify the garnish by deleting the crisp slices of potato and beet. Caul fat, if you are not familiar with it, […]
Chicken Thighs with Black Mustard Seeds and Fermented-Rice Pancakes
Serving: 4 Print Chicken Thighs with Black Mustard Seeds and Fermented-Rice Pancakes By Great Chefs May 1, 2014 In 1986 Lydia Shire traveled to India, which sparked her imagination and ignited an interest in Indian spices. She also found ideas in Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbook. Inspired by both, she incorporated the ideas in this dish. The […]
Restaurant Information
Phone : 617-536-2100
Address : 215 Charles St, Boston, MA 02114