Elia Aboumrad (born in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

) is a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

and former ''

Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo in March 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs ...

'' contestant.

Biography

Aboumrad studied at Ecole Lenôtre. After earning

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (; French: " The Blue Ribbon"; LCB) is a French hospitality and culinary education institution, teaching haute cuisine. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institution consists ...

's 'Grand Diplôme', Aboumrad went on to work under

Joël Robuchon Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' (France's best worker) in cuisine in 197 ...

in Paris. After several years of training and service, she became his first female Sous Chef. She then moved to Las Vegas to open his restaurants at the MGM Grand Hotel. Later, she was recruited as executive chef of The Café at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. The Hotel garnered its fourth AAA Diamond under her regime. Aboumrad appeared on

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show ''

'' on

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

during its second season and was one of the final four contestants when she was eliminated from the competition. In 2009, she was awarded the internationally recognized 'Universal Excellency Award' for her dedication to the culinary arts. Aboumrad also competed as a contestant on '' Top Chef: All Stars'' in 2010, but she was eliminated in the first episode. In September 2012, Aboumrad and Uyen Nguyen opened GORGE, a charcuterie house and wine bar, on the famous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. In November 2021, Aboumrad opened Boom Bang Fine Foods & Cocktails in the Green Valley area of Henderson, Nevada, with partners Christian Page and Tony Angotti. Elia Aboumrad competed on

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

's 2025 show 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing season 2 before being eliminated during Shift 5, Challenge 15 ("Cooking Without Gas"). She won the Golden Knife in Shift 3 and Shift 4.

Personal life

Aboumrad is Mexican and of Lebanese heritage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aboumrad, Elia Living people Mexican women chefs Mexican people of Lebanese descent Chefs from Mexico City Year of birth missing (living people) École Lenôtre alumni