Lydia Shire Bio | Wiki
Lydia Shire is a popular Boston-based chef and restaurateur who currently runs the acclaimed restaurant Scampo inside the Liberty Hotel. When Lydia returned from London, she worked as a line cook at Jacky Robert’s Maison Robert. Within three years, she became head chef in 1974. She went on to serve at Seasons in The Bostonian Hotel in 1982 which led to national fame and a James Beard Foundation “awarded (her) the coveted “Who’s Who of Food & Beverage” award in 1984.”
It was here that Lydia first met Jasper White. Lydia worked under him as Executive Sous Chef and left, in 1985, as the Executive Chef – the Bostonian’s first female chef. In 1986, Lydia went to Beverly Hills to open the Four Seasons hotel becoming the “first female Executive Chef in the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts Company to open a luxury property.” Lydia came back to Boston and in 1989 Biba “opened to great fanfare.” Biba closed following 9/11 and reopened as Excelsior Restaurant and Shire was hired as Executive Chef. In 1994, Lydia opened Pignoli in the Copley Plaza.
When Lydia bought Locke-Ober with business partner Paul Licari in 2001, she was the historic restaurant’s first female chef. Jacky Robert was executive chef for two years starting in 2001. A ten-year lease became signed which they were unable to renew, forcing them to close. Since then, Lydia has opened Blue Sky at the Atlantic House Hotel in York Beach, Maine (closed in 2012), and Scampo in Boston’s Liberty Hotel – previously the Charles Street Jail.
Lydia Shire Age
Lydia was born in 1948 in Connecticut, in the United States. She is 75 years old.
Lydia Shire Height
She is a woman of average stature. Lydia stands at a height of 5 ft 6 in ( approx. 1.65m ).
Lydia Shire Family
She was born in Connecticut and grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts, both of her parents were illustrators. Lydia started cooking as early as age four alongside her father. At age four, Lydia was peeling garlic with her father as he cut out recipes from The New York Times. Lydia’s first professional position was slicing paté and opening oysters as the “salad girl” at Boston’s revered Maison Robert
Lydia Shire Husband
Lydia is married to her husband Uriel Pineda a former employee. The couple resides in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Lydia and her husband Uriel Pineda have a son named Alex. Previously, Lydia was married to Tom Shire and together they had three children.
Lydia Shire Son | Son Chopped | Chef Son
She has a son named Alex Pineda with her husband Uriel Pineda. Alex Pineda served as a chef with his mother at Scampo in Boston and in spring 2021, was the executive chef at The Landing, a seafood restaurant in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Alex afterward competed on an Alton Brown-led tournament on Food Network’s Chopped, winning his preliminary episode prior to finally being the first chef eliminated in the tournament finale episode.
Lydia Shire Education
In 1971, Lydia attended London’s Cordon Bleu Cooking School, after which she returned to Maison Robert but this time as a line cook. In 1974, Lydia became the head chef of this prestigious dining room.
Lydia Shire Chef
She currently runs the acclaimed restaurant Scampo inside the Liberty Hotel and will open a restaurant at the Seaport Science Center in 2024. In 1992, the James Beard Foundation honored Lydia as “America’s Best Chef – Northeast.” That same year, Food & Wine reported that Lydia was “One of America’s Top Ten Chefs.” Following opening Pignoli, a robust Italian bistro in Park Plaza, to rave reviews in 1994, she earned the prestigious Ivy Award from Restaurants & Institutions magazine, and the James Beard Foundation again acknowledged her, this time nominated as “One of America’s Top Five Chefs” in 1996.
Lydia Shire Restaurant
Lydia launched her sixth culinary destination, Scampo, the dynamic first-floor restaurant in Boston’s Liberty Hotel, in 2008. Known that year by Esquire magazine as one of the “Best New Restaurants” in America, Scampo defies tradition with its Italian-inspired cuisine unrestrained by borders and inspired by flavors of the Mediterranean and Middle East. In the summer of 2010, Lydia opened the internationally eclectic Towne Stove and Spirits in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood which was also known by Esquire magazine as “Best New Restaurant” in 2011. The same year, she also was named among “The Top 10 Most Badass Women Chefs in America” by The Daily Meal.
Lydia Shire Swiss Steak Recipe
Swiss Steak Ingredients
3 lbs. or so “ 7 bone “ chuck steak
1 ½ cups A P flour
3 T. butter or bacon fat
2 T. pure olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 large Spanish yellow onions cut thinly
1 cup Spanish Amontillado or Cream Sherry
1 cup liquid: water, stock, tomato juice or red wine
4 or ¼ cup T. tomato paste
1 tsp. canned chipotle (optional if you like extra spicy)
Swiss steak recipes are made from an actual piece of steak, usually cut from the bottom, top, or eye of round. These tough steaks are pounded thin, tenderized (though a textured mallet or swissing machine), and braised until fork-tender in a rich tomato and onion gravy.
Lydia Shire Restaurants Boston | Boston Restaurants
Throughout the ‘70s, Lydia made her mark in Boston’s most respected restaurants: Harvest, Café Plaza at The Copley Plaza Hotel, and Parker’s at the Parker House Hotel. In 1982, Lydia opened Seasons at the Bostonian Hotel with Jasper White. The restaurant and the chefs quickly became nationally known for culinary “excellence” and “daring” – two words that still embody Lydia today.
Lydia Shire Restaurants
– Scampo.
– Pignoli.
– Locke-Ober.
– Blue Sky.
– Biba.
– Excelsior- Cafe Plaza.
– Parker’s.
– Maison Robert.
Lydia Shire Net Worth | Chef Net Worth
Lydia gets her wealth from her work as a chef and restaurateur who currently runs the acclaimed restaurant Scampo inside the Liberty Hotel. Therefore, Lydia has accumulated a decent fortune over the years. Lydia’s net worth is $20 million.
How Old Is Lydia Shire
Lydia is a 75-year-old who was born in 1948 in Connecticut, in the United States.
How Tall Is Lydia Shire
Lydia is a woman of average stature who stands at a height of 5 ft 6 in ( Approx. 1. 65m ).
Who Is Lydia Shire
She is a Boston-based chef and restaurateur who has opened Blue Sky at the Atlantic House Hotel in York Beach, Maine (closed in 2012), and Scampo in Boston’s Liberty Hotel – originally the Charles Street Jail.