Zareen Syed

Zareen Syed is an education reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering issues that touch K-12 schools and colleges and universities. She also writes about campus activism and various student-led movements as well as narratives focusing on underrepresented groups. She joined the Tribune as a suburban reporter and has previously worked for NBC Sports, WGN-TV and Boston 25 News.

People eat taste portions of foods during Chicago Gourmet at Millennium Park on Sept. 29, 2018. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Gourmet announces 2025 dates, new sports theme with a crosstown twist and all-star roster of chefs

May 1, 2025 at 11:36 a.m.

Chicago Gourmet, the upscale food festival that celebrates the city as a “culinary capital,” will be returning to Millennium Park Sept. 25 to 28 with a new, sporty twist.

Students use a multidirectional crosswalk at Sixth and Green streets near the University of Illinois campus in Champaign. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois academics relieved after Trump administration restores legal status of some international students

April 26, 2025 at 12:22 p.m.

The announcement came after scores of international students around the U.S. filed court challenges, government lawyers said Friday.

Chef Daniel Parker, from left, Jermaine Brown Jr., Jaheim Williams and Chimalli Licona dress a salad at a dinner organized by SkyART, a visual arts organization for young people, in the group’s space on West Lake Street in Chicago on April 17, 2025. The menu was planned by the teens. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Hopeful youth chefs create 4-course dinner in SkyART, TXA TXA Club collaboration

April 21, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Creative culinary studio TXA TXA Club and nonprofit SkyART have teamed together to host dinners where hopeful young chefs learn from pros.

Aerial view of the University of Chicago campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago on April 10, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Trump administration revokes student visas from U. of C., Northwestern and U. of I.

April 10, 2025 at 7:27 a.m.

Over the past week, nearly 300 full-time international students across the country were informed that their visa status had been revoked.

Kumiko partner/creative director/mixologist Julia Momose is a James Beard Foundation nominee in the Outstanding Bar category. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Here are Chicago’s 5 James Beard nominees

April 3, 2025 at 6:19 a.m.

The James Beard Foundation announced Wednesday the finalists vying for its coveted awards, and among them are five Chicago chefs and restaurants.

Students grab slices of pizza during lunchtime at Hadley Junior High School in Glen Ellyn on March 28, 2025. The school currently does not have halal food options but will start offering halal-friendly options sometime in April. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois is first to mandate halal, kosher meals be available in public institutions such as schools, but concerns remain

April 1, 2025 at 12:18 p.m.

With the Faith By Plate Act mandating halal and kosher meals be offered at places such as public schools, Muslim parents are thrilled and hope the state follows proper guidelines...

Zareen Syed

All Stories

Chicago Gourmet announces 2025 dates, new sports theme with a crosstown twist and all-star roster of chefs

Illinois academics relieved after Trump administration restores legal status of some international students

Hopeful youth chefs create 4-course dinner in SkyART, TXA TXA Club collaboration

Trump administration revokes student visas from U. of C., Northwestern and U. of I.

Here are Chicago’s 5 James Beard nominees

Illinois is first to mandate halal, kosher meals be available in public institutions such as schools, but concerns remain

Critic’s Choice Food Awards winners: 9 outstanding Chicago restaurants, bakeries and more

Sehri scenes at Cafe Bethak in Lombard: Samosa chaat, card games and chai during an early morning in Ramadan

Academics in Chicago sound the alarm on ‘viewpoint discrimination’ as government targets student protesters

Readers’ Choice Food Awards winners: 10 restaurants, bars, bakeries and more that impressed Chicago in 2024