Last updated on December 12th, 2024
The IHA’s Inspired Home Show, scheduled for March 5-7 at the McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois, will feature Martha Stewart as the headline in the line-up for celebrity chefs. The IHA show will be the first in-person gathering of the industry’s premier marketplace since 2019.
The chef demonstrations will begin at 11:30 a.m. on March 5 and continue through March 7. During the three days of presentations, celebrity chefs will be demonstrating their culinary talents using products found throughout the show. The Cooking Theater, located in the dine and décor expo, is sponsored by Gibson Homewares.
Joining Stewart in the Cooking Theater will be veteran celebrity chefs Rick Bayless, Gale Gand and Fabio Viviani, along with first-time appearances by actress Tia Mowry, YouTube chef Andrew Rea of Binging with Babish, Meredith Abbott of Sur La Table, Will Brown of Cutthroat Kitchen and MasterChef winners Gerron Hurt and Kelsey Murphy.
“We are beyond excited to regroup with the industry in person after two years of being apart,” said Sal Gabbay, CEO of Gibson Homewares. “Gibson is committed to the in-person industry experience, and we are delighted to bring both our company booth and the Cooking Theater to life at The Inspired Home Show with celebrity chef appearances and multiple new product announcements.”
Stewart is the founder of the first multi-channel lifestyle company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She is an entrepreneur, a best-selling author of lifestyle books and is a television show host.
Stewart has launched furniture and home décor with Wayfair, seafood with True North Seafood, coffee with Barrie House, footwear with Aerosoles and an Amazon brand shop that features books, coffee, flowers, footwear, food, pet care, garden, seasonal décor, crafts and area rugs.
Returning Favorite Celebrity Chefs
Bayless is well-known as the winner of the title of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, besting the competition with his Mexican cuisine. His public television series, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, is broadcast coast-to-coast and his nine cookbooks have earned accolades. The Government of Mexico has bestowed on Bayless the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle – the highest decoration bestowed on foreigners whose work has benefitted Mexico and its people.
Viviani, born and raised in Florence, Italy, is best known for his participation in Bravo’s fifth and eighth Top Chef seasons. In 2005, Viviani moved to California, where he opened his first Los Angeles restaurants, Café Firenze, Firenze Osteria, Bar Firenze and Mercato by Fabio Viviani.
Gand is a pastry chef and chef and is a co-founder of the Michelin two-star restaurant, Tru, in Chicago. She hosted Food Network’s show, Sweet Dreams, streaming on Discovery Plus, is the author of eight cookbooks and worked with Julia Child on her book and PBS series, Baking with Julia.
She has received two James Beard Awards, has been inducted to the American Academy of Chefs and the Chicago Chefs Hall of Fame and was schooled in Paris at La Varenne.
First-Time Appearances
Mowry, an actress, producer, author and entrepreneur, has had a career spanning three decades after becoming a pop culture icon starring in the hit sitcom Sister, Sister. She hosts her own YouTube channel, Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix, with weekly videos that help viewers solve life’s little dilemmas, fast. She has published several books and her second cookbook, “The Quick Fix Kitchen,” was released in September. Her new homewares collection with Gibson, “Spice by Tia Mowry,” features cookware, bakeware, cutlery, and dinnerware prep.
Rea is a chef, filmmaker and YouTube personality. His channel, Babish Culinary Universe, featuring his series, Binging with Babish, is viewed by more than nine million people around the globe. He has a New York Times best-selling book, “Binging With Babish: 100 Recipes Recreated from Your Favorite Movies and TV Shows” and has recently released his first cookware line.
Abbott brings her comprehensive background to the role of culinary content manager at Sur La Table. Her background includes working as a pastry chef, a food truck operator, a private-school chef, a farm hand and as a corporate executive chef. A native Iowan who has lived in Seattle since 2002, Abbott immersed herself in Seattle’s thriving and innovative restaurant world.
Brown is a native of Sugarland, Texas and has resided in Atlanta, Georgia for more than 18 years. His cooking roots stem back to his upbringing in Opelousas, Louisiana, where his grandmother taught him how to prepare creole dishes such as gumbo, beignets, boudin balls and shrimp creole. Brown opened the doors to his new food concept, Creole Kitchen, and has appeared on Food Network’s sixth season of Cutthroat Kitchen.
Hurt is a former teacher turned MasterChef season nine winner. He grew up in Louisville, Kentucky with a huge influence from his late mother’s cooking inspiration. Hurt encourages others to enjoy cooking and crafting unique recipes through his subscription-based website.
Murphy specializes in Modern American Cuisine, bringing together flavors from all ethnicities that make up this country. As the season 11 winner of MasterChef, Murphy is jumping head-first into her culinary career, leaving her job as a physical therapist to focus on food full-time. Her first project will be a partnership with MasterChef and Grubhub, which will launch this year.
To view participating chefs along with the scheduled dates and times, visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com/attractions/cooking-theater.
