Gale Gand & Spritz Burger

Gale Gand was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1956.  She was interested in the arts and spent her college years studying silver and gold smithing.  Her late father, Bob, and her brother, Gary, were both professional musicians and her mandolin teacher was Jethro Burns, who also lived in Evanston and was a member of the famous Homer & Jethro comedy act. As a child, Gale performed with them as the Gand Family Singers.  She attended the Rochester Institute of Technology, and when she took a year off and worked in a restaurant, she discovered the skills she had learned in art translated well to cuisine.  During that time, she traveled to Europe and attended pastry classes at La Varenne and Paris.

In 1985 she moved to New York City, working with Johnathan Waxman at Jams and with Great Chef Alfred Portale at The Gotham Bar & Grill. In 1987 she moved back to Chicago to work at Carlo’s in Highland Park, then down to the Pump Room, Bella Luna and Bice. The late Bill Rice of the Chicago Tribune named her a Dessert Diva.  While working at Bice, owner Rich Melman introduced Gand and her husband, Rick Tramonto, to Bob Payton who owned 31 restaurants throughout Europe and the UK.  He hired Chefs Gale and Rick to open his Stapleford Park Hotel in Leicestershire, two hours north of London and won a Michelin star in 1991.  

Two years later, when Chef Gale’s mother passed away, they returned to Chicago and opened Trio in Evanston.  In 1994, the Great Chefs television crew show up to tape both chefs for their Great Chefs – Great Cities series for the Discovery Channel.  They sold Trio to open Brasserie T in 1996 and sold that restaurant in 2001 to open Tru.  

Chef Gand has since gone on to appear in numerous television shows and special events, and is a prolific cookbook author.  For more information, visit www.galegand.com/

Phone :(773) 868-9866
Address : 3819 N Broadway St Chicago, IL 60613