The Gorbals - Brooklyn

Born to travel-hungry Scottish and Israeli parents of Eastern-European descent, chef/owner Ilan Hall was exposed to international food from an early age. At seventeen, Ilan went to Florence where he studied at the Lorenzo de Medici School’s Apicius program and cooked at the Al Lume di Candela restaurant. After an externship at Charlie Palmer’s Aureole in New York, he graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and subsequently got his certification in Baking and Pastry Arts at the school’s Napa, California campus. While there he worked at the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant; back in New York Ilan cooked for Tom Collicchio at Craft, then for Mario Batali at Casa Mono under chef/co-owner Andy Nusser, originally of Batali’s acclaimed Babbo. At 24, on the series still most-watched episode, he won Bravo TV’s reality competition, Top Chef. Ilan has been traveling the world all his life; his restless nature and tradition-shattering style have now spawned his indefinable first restaurant – The Gorbals Los Angeles.