Chef Elizabeth Binder was born and raised in South Africa where she attended the internationally recognized Christina Martin School of Food and Wine in her hometown of Durban. After graduating, she landed her first cooking job at the small luxury hotel, Blue Mountain Lodge near the Kruger Park, where she was quickly promoted to the hotel’s head chef at age 19. She then spent time in the UK, where she worked for Sir Terrence Conran's Del Ponte at Clarke's, owned by Alice Waters' protege, Sally Clarke. Elizabeth traveled throughout the globe, eventually landing in San Francisco, where she worked with Traci des Jardin. In 2006, she became the executive chef of Italian-inspired Bar Bambino. In 2012, Elizabeth became a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef, Season 10.

Elizabeth believes in cooking from the heart with integrity, that all food has it’s place from the simple to the most decadent. She uses locally sourced, organic, seasonal ingredients whenever possible, and prefers sourcing from smaller, sustainable farming and ranching operations.