Iliana Regan's Quest for Wild Game

“Oh, there’s a big one,” Iliana Regan says. She’s standing at the edge of the pond holding a slong stick that’s capped with a three-pronged spike., like Poseidon’s trident. With a  quick flick, Regan plunges the shaft into the muddy finger of the pond. When she lifts it up, there is a plump bullfrog pierced and wriggling at the end. She drops the frog into a bag with a bunch of its amphibian brethren and we set out to find more. 

It’s the weirdest hunting expedition I’ve ever been on, not least because it takes place on a suburban golf course about an hour south of Chicago, where Regan, one of the most creatively distinctive chefs of her generation at 38, presides over two restaurants, Elizabeth (@elizabethrestaurant_and_co) and Kitsune. 

From “Born to Be Wild” by Jeff Gordinier (@thegordinier) for Esquire; Portrait of Regan by Jeff Marini (@iwaslikeyo)  

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