Lydia Shire

Lydia Shire (born 1948) is an American Boston-based chef and restaurateur.

Early life and education Born in Connecticut and raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, both of her parents were illustrators. Shire began cooking as early as age four alongside her father. In 1971, she enrolled at Le Cordon Bleu in London. She considers Jasper White to be her mentor, and "her best cook friend in the world."

Career When she returned from London, she became a line cook at Jacky Robert's Maison Robert. Within three years, she became head chef in 1974.

Shire went to work at Seasons in The Bostonian Hotel in 1982 which led to national recognition and a James Beard Foundation "awarded (her) the coveted "Who’s Who of Food & Beverage" award in 1984." - the Bostonian's first female chef.

In 1986, Shire 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." A ten-year lease was signed which they were unable to renew, forcing them to close. Shire was devastated, saying "They were for me 10 absolutely glorious years. Gourmet ranked us the 18th-best restaurant in the country, and named us to the 21 must-visit restaurants in your lifetime."

Since then, she has opened Blue Sky at the Atlantic House Hotel in York Beach, Maine (closed in 2012), and Scampo in Boston's Liberty Hotel – formerly the Charles Street Jail.

Honors and awards 1984 the James Beard Foundation "awarded (her) the coveted "Who’s Who of Food & Beverage" award." He later competed on an Alton Brown-led tournament on Food Network's Chopped, winning his preliminary episode before subsequently being the first chef eliminated in the tournament finale episode.