A Chicago Chef on a Mission
Posted by estiator at 10 September, at 21 : 35 PM Print
COVER STORY
Avli on the Park’s Eleftheria Sioulas champions her heritage—and her industry. By Michael Kaminer
Eleftheria Sioulas is a chef on a mission. Part of that mission involves food, of course. At Chicago’s acclaimed Avli on the Park, where she’s executive sous-chef, the 32-year-old kitchen star is striving to share Greek culinary heritage while keeping it fresh and modern.
“I am deeply rooted in tradition, but I believe Greek food should evolve without losing its soul,” Sioulas tells Estiator from Chicago. “For me, it starts with simplicity, quality ingredients, and philoxenia—making people feel welcomed, cared for, and connected around the table.”
There’s a broader mission behind her out-of-the-box approach to Greek food, however—and it has to do with upending stereotypes about restaurant workplaces.
“It’s not just about cooking but about showing a new generation how the industry can work in a positive way,” says Sioulas, who was born in Chicago, moved to Athens as an infant, and returned to the Windy City a decade ago. “We have a lot of women in Avli on the Park’s kitchen, and many of them have young kids or even grandchildren. I want them to work balanced hours and spend time with their families. It’s about a purpose. I serve food from people who love to cook. But they’re also happy, and when my kitchen team is happy, my food tastes better.”
Sioulas has her own history in mind as she thinks about her team. “Chicago gave me room to grow while staying connected to my Greek roots,” she says. “And Avli has given me incredible opportunities.”
As executive sous-chef, she manages 30 people in the kitchen, helps oversee menus for events, à la carte, and catering, creates chef’s tables, tastings, and experiences, and represents Avli at Greek cultural events. “There’s a culinary director for the Avli brand, but every location has different items that define it,” she says.
Growing up in Voula, Athens, she studied web design in college “but didn’t like it. In the last class I had, we had to create our own web page. I created a culinary page, which wasn’t common back then. Just a few people were putting up recipes. I did the research, realized how much I loved recipes and the stories behind them, and decided to explore that world,” she says.
After studying in the Culinary Arts program at Athens’ prestigious Le Monde Institute of Hotel & Tourism Studies, Sioulas had to seek real-world kitchen experience to finalize her degree. She trained at Vouliagmeni’s five-star Margi Hotel under Michelin-starred Chef Panagiotis Giakalis and organic-food pioneer Chef Nikos Bahouros. “One of them was very traditional, and the other was very modern. What interested me was to combine both and explore that through my work,” she says.
Once she graduated, she “came back to Chicago a decade ago to look for opportunity and maybe live the dream. I was born here, and I have the passport, so it was worth trying,” she says. She started in the kitchen of the luxury Langham hotel. “It was a very hard first few years. At Langham, I realized I had to start from zero. Whatever you have in your mind about food changes when you get to a different country with different needs. Now I know the American guest, and that’s helped me realize what a kitchen has to accomplish. Chef Damion Henry, who was chef at the Langham, was an important mentor.”
After achieving one dream in Chicago, Sioulas saw another come true. She gave birth to Theodore, now six years old and a familiar presence in her kitchen. Motherhood also changed her perspective on the business and the people who work in it.
“When I became a mother, my schedule changed dramatically. I couldn’t have balanced hours and take care of my kid. It was a challenging period to figure out what to do with my career,” she says.
A door opened with the Avli brand, founded by Chicago restaurateur Louie Alexakis. Founded in 2009, the group now includes five locations around metro Chicago.
“We have great relationship,” she says. “The partners organize trips for us to Greece for educational purposes. The team studies Greek products and philoxenia. I also went to London to explore Greek restaurants there, see what’s popular, and think about innovation for Chicago. There’s a lot of respect between the team and the partners. Louie was one of the only people I had in Chicago at the time. I told him that I had just had a baby, but I would take any position and didn’t care about the title. But he says, ‘No, I’ll give you this, and you can bring your kid anytime.’ I only have appreciation for him.”
Alexakis also gave her the opportunity “to take this position with office hours, which meant I could spend more time with my kid,” she says. “And I’ve brought him to the kitchen on the days he doesn’t have school, mainly because I don’t have a choice. But he’s displayed an interest in cooking, and he’s been very involved.”
Sioulas has been a fierce advocate for giving women in the industry a similar steadiness between work and life. “As a chef, it’s my priority to make sure everyone works balanced hours in a balanced environment. Everyone knows their hours, and days off, ahead of time. I’m one of several women in my kitchen. One has five children. Some have grandkids. I want to be an inspiration for them, and I want them to follow their dreams. They should not feel they have to give up once they have families.”
Some of Sioulas’ steeliness comes from her upbringing. “My mother is from Kalamata and my father from Kleisoura, Zirou, in Epirus. My parents taught my brother and me to be independent, follow our dreams, and choose where to build our lives. Now, as a mother, I understand the sacrifice behind giving a child that freedom,” she says. “I also grew up with a lot of females in the kitchen in Greece. Back in the day, families showed love with food. Often, they didn’t know how to express feelings and emotions, so they would feed you. I also learned from my grandma about recipes. She had no notebooks or cards; it was all about instincts. That was so inspiring when I was young.”
Even her choice of uniform for Avli on the Park’s team is empowering. “Some of my uniforms include traditional Greek embroidery made by grandmothers in Greece—women from one of the last generations still keeping the art of kentima alive by hand,” she says. “In a world of factories and mass production, I want to wear something that carries my roots and respects the hands, patience, and knowledge of the generations before us. They put love into what they’re doing. Tradition stays alive when we continue to use it.”
Sioulas’ menus for Avli on the Park reflect that philosophy as well. “Chicago customers can be very conservative, though Greece has moved on in flavors and food. But Americans generally are very open to trying an innovative twist on tradition,” she says.
This summer, she debuted a chocolate mousse with extra-virgin olive oil and kalamata olives. “People were surprised—‘How do you make it? And how do you make it taste so good?’ ” she says, laughing. For her version of diples, a traditional Kalamata dessert, she added Bananas Foster gelato. And Sioulas’ spanakopita, partly based on her grandmother’s recipe, incorporated “fish and a nice beurre blanc. It’s an elevated version of something that’s basic to our culture,” she says. For winter, she’s already deep in research and development for seasonal menus. “I’m experimenting with cinnamon rolls that have savory fillings like feta,” she revealed.
Now Sioulas is firmly focused on the future. She’s planning to launch her own line of olive oil products next year, “but not plain olive oil. Something with wellness, whether it’s skin care, a drink, or other consumer products,” she says. “I’m in meetings now to see the prototypes, and I do all the tastings myself.”
She also wants to connect chefs around the world, partly to give Greek cooking an elevated global profile. “I have global connections with chefs all over the world, including Saudi Arabia and Brazil. I want to connect chefs globally and do something different. In my kitchen, most of my chefs are Latin American; it’s hard to find Greek cooks. But there are so many similar foods we have with Mexicans, and people don’t know that. I see it in the family meals we cook every day. What amazing things could happen if we connect a Mexican chef with a Greek one?”
Likewise, on her off days, Sioulas has been busy sampling Chicago’s vast, rich food scene. “I’m not trying Greek food when I’m off,” she says. “I’m into Vietnamese, other Asian food, Mexican cooking. I want to understand their culture, and see how something Greek might match up with it. Then I can make someone comfortable trying something a little unfamiliar.”
She also travels to Europe and New York City to trend-spot. “In New York, [pastry chef] Dominique Ansel did something with soft-serve ice cream dipped in butter. I thought, We have olive oil. Why not do it?”
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing for Sioulas; like so many leaders in the industry, she’s found staffing to be a challenge. “Our industry has a crisis. People see how tough the industry is. They know it’s a hard job. After Covid, there’s a significant decrease of people coming to us for work. Before, they would line up for jobs. It’s not just the kitchen; vendors don’t have enough drivers, for example. The work is heavy and exhausting, with a tough timeline and tough expectations.”
But she’s optimistic about both Avli and the industry. “My ambition goes beyond running a successful kitchen; I want to contribute to better leadership, healthier careers, stronger teams, meaningful collaborations, and experiences people remember,” she says. “For me, success means building something with other people, not only for myself. The purpose of food is not about proving who’s better. It’s about working together, and making something great that everyone can share and enjoy.”
Learn more: instagram.com/eleftheria.sioula instagram.com/avli
