Nicole Yarovinsky
Daisies | Chicago
SEPTEMBER 2024
Nicole Yarovinsky moved to the United States from Russia from Russia at 18 years old. In California, she enrolled at Santa Barbara City College before deciding to try her hand in the restaurant industry instead. Yarovinsky started working at Zaytoon in front-of-house roles while learning the Lebanese restaurant’s wine list, but at 21, when the concept introduced a cocktail menu, she was thrown behind the stick. She embraced the creative freedom the bar provided and dove into local sourcing, joining the kitchen manager on trips to the farmers market.
Yarovinsky then moved on to Nicoletta’s Table in Lake Oswego, Oregon, as head bartender and learned the nuances of Italian and West Coast wines. After settling in Chicago, Yarovinsky helped open Sushi Boutique, where she experimented with a wide range of products and played with culinary techniques behind the bar. Then, with Beverage Director Guillermo Bravo, she went on to reopen Vol. 39 at The Kimpton Gray, creating various themed menus over the next two years. In December 2023, Yarovinsky joined the team at Daisies. As beverage manager, she has rebuilt the bar program from scratch, providing more non-alcoholic options and introducing more fermentation-forward products to the backbar. With an emphasis on sustainability, Yarovinsky has brought in new technology to streamline service and works closely with the kitchen to minimize waste—utilizing eighty-percent of the bar’s scraps.
