Sarah Stegner

Born and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Sarah Stegner's grandmother worked as a caterer. Stegner studied classical guitar at Northwestern University, before deciding to become a chef. She went to the Dumas Pere Cooking School, and after graduating, she landed a position at the Ritz-Calton Hotel, Chicago. She worked her way up, eventually becoming sous chef to George Bumbaris.[1] While there, she won two James Beard Foundation Awards, first for Rising Star Chef in 1994 and then four years later for Best Chef Midwest.[2] Stegner appeared twice on the television series Great Chefs, first in 1994, and then again in 1998 for a barbecue special in collaboration with Weber-Stephen Products.[1]

In 2004, Stegner and Bumbaris opened their own restaurant together, named the Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, Illinois.[1][2] Stegner launched a second restaurant, Prairie Fire, in 2010. This saw a return to downtown Chicago, for Stegner, who ran it as a casual dining establishment.[3] Outside of the professional kitchen, she also shows students at Northbrook Junior High School how to prepare healthy food, and praised Michelle Obama's work when she launched a similar nationwide campaign in 2011.[4]

Stegner is married to Rohit Nambiar, and they have a daughter.[2]