Chicago’s culinary culture is amped up with strong, hard working and beautiful female cooks, chefs and restaurant owners who are proving that there's more to the Windy City than deep-dish pizza, tacos and loaded hot dogs. Some are immigrants and have enriched the community by sharing a spark of the culture through cuisine. Others are native Chicagoans, living the dream of opening their restaurant.

Claudio Velez, owner of the Tamale Guy Chicago restaurant, previously known as the patron saint of late night drinkers at bars across Chicago: Tamale Guy Chicago was a dream come true for Velez, an immigrant from Acapulco, Mexico who has spent two decades in Chicago