Noah Bekofsky
ARIA | Chicago

Biography
Thirty-four year old Noah Bekofsky began his career as a chef working tables at a restaurant at the age of 14. Realizing his comfort behind the stove, Bekofsky embarked on a 20-year adventure that led him to his most recent position as Executive Chef at Chicago’s aria restaurant at The Fairmont Hotel.

Inspired by his travels and cooking experiences throughout the world, Noah’s menu at aria is both culturally inspired and comfortably American, reflecting culinary and cultural traditions that transcend any one cuisine. Noah’s goal is to uncover and expose the true flavors of ingredients that are at the foundation of comfort foods from one end of the world to another.

Prior to joining aria restaurant, Noah served as the executive chef at the Kapalua Bay Hotel and Ocean Villas in Kapalua, Hawaii and at the Westin Salishan Lodge and Golf Resort in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. He graduated with Honors from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

In addition to overseeing the operations of aria restaurant and bar, Bekofsky is an active participant in the Chicago culinary and social community. His exclusive program “shop with the chef” is a summer-long education program in conjunction with Chicago’s Green City Market to educate and inform Chicago residents about local and organic purveyors. Bekofsky has participated for two years in Great Meals, Green Deals, a city-wide program with Chicago Gateway Green to raise funds for a greener Chicago. He also sits on the Chef Advisory Board of Common Threads, a not-for-profit program teaching at-risk children about tolerance and diversity through food and nutrition. Bekofsky is a regular fixture on Chicago television, appearing on Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS and WGN to share his knowledge of food safety and selection