Do-Good Dinners the Next Two Thursdays
Philanthropic Thursdays
Chicago Chefs Cook Benefit for Pilsen Food Pantry
A reminder that Chefsgiving — the Chicago Chefs Cook coalition’s next fundraising event — is next Thursday (November 9). It’s a dinner to benefit the Pilsen Food Pantry. Proceeds from the event at downtown Chicago’s Venteux restaurant (224 N. Michigan Ave.) will help the Southside pantry’s “New Migrant Program,” which provides shelter, food, clothing, and healthcare resources to Chicago’s newest arrivals.
Venteux is located on the ground floor of the Pendry Chicago hotel.
The chef lineup for the dinner is amazing: Marcel Heiduk of Venteux, Devon Quinn of eden, Dudley Nieto of Fat Rosie’s, Rodolfo Cuadros of Amaru, D’Andre Carter of Soul & Smoke, Manny Mendoza of Herbal Notes, and pastry chef extraordinaire Felicia Mayden. Matthew Rodrigues, co-host of NBC 5’s Chicago Today program, is the emcee.
Chicago Chefs Cook is led by Chef Sarah Stegner of Northbrook’s Prairie Grass Cafe; Jodi Fyfe, founder/CEO of The Paramount Group catering and eden restaurant; and Good Food advocates Eda Davidman and Darren Gest.
Its first pop-up was a massive tasting event at Navy Pier in March 2022 to raise funds for World Central Kitchen’s effort to feed those displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Including that event, the group has raised more than $1 million dollars for immediate needs and recovery after earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, floods in Northern Italy, a disastrous hurricane in Puerto Rico, wildfires in Maui, and a civil war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, while also supporting local food organizations such as Green City Market and food education non-profit Pilot Light.
Now the team turns its attention to the rising number of displaced migrants arriving in the city. “Our view is that no one goes hungry or unnoticed. With winter fast approaching, we’re racing against time to make sure that people have their basic human needs met,” Darren said.
To read more about Chicago Chefs Cook’s good works, visit the new Local Food Forum website and enter Chicago Chefs Cook in the search box.
Demera’s An Evening of Hope
Then, two weeks from today (November 16), join Tigist Reda of Demera Ethiopian Restaurant and an amazing lineup of generous culinary artists at An Evening of Hope: Arts & Food for Humanity. The tasting dinner will take place at Guild Row, 3130 N. Rockwell St. in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood.
Tigist is a native of Tigray, an Ethiopian province where a devastating civil war displaced much of the population. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit Health Professionals Network for Tigray (HPN4Tigray), which provides critical health care services for those in need in Tigray and at refugee camps in Sudan.
When you attend the event, you will be informed about what HPN4Tigray is doing for women and children, while immersing yourself in culture, culinary delights, captivating performances and live art demonstrations. Not only will you get to enjoy great food and art but you'll also be contributing to making a significant difference in the lives of countless people.
Along with her own fundraisers for her native province, Tigist was the inspiration for the Chicago Chefs Cook for Tigray event in September 2022.
Speaking of Philanthropy…
Common Ground Doc Premiere
And a reminder that Naturally Chicago, on Saturday, November 18, is hosting the Chicago premiere of Common Ground, a major documentary about regenerative agriculture that aims to inspire a food and climate revolution.
This inspring — and star-studded — film will be shown at 8 p.m. on November 18 at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. Tickets can also be purchased for a VIP reception starting at 6:30 p.m. at the adjacent Music Box Lounge and Steingold’s Deli next door.
Common Ground is a follow-up to Kiss the Ground, filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell’s documentary about reversing soil loss to address climate change. Their goal is a movement to engage a billion people to support a regenerative farming system that produces nutrient-dense food and sequesters vast amounts of carbon in the soil, making food production a climate solution.
Stars of film and TV, including Laura Dern, Jason Momoa, Rosario Dawson and Woody Harrelson, plus other food and farm leaders are featured in the film.
Attendees at the VIP reception will meet the Tickells and local food luminaries who include Rick Bayless, chef/co-owner of Frontera Restaurant Group and co-founder of Frontera Farmer Foundation; Will Allen, pioneering urban farmer and author of The Good Food Revolution; and Jim Slama, managing director of Naturally Chicago and founder of the new Locally Made program that connects Natural CPG brands with retailers.
To attend the VIP reception, you can purchase a VIP ticket… become an Event Host… or become an Event Partner. Click the button to learn more and make your selection.
Or click the button below to go to the Music Box Theatre website, where you can purchase VIP tickets or tickets for the film showing only, which begins at 8 p.m. Tickets, whether VIP or film only, enable you to attend the post-film panel discussion featuring the filmmakers and local food luminaries.
All proceeds from this event support Naturally Chicago's Locally Made program, a groundbreaking initiative designed to connect Illinois retailers with the region's emerging and top-performing brands, many of which are women and minority owned. Their mission is to help natural product entrepreneurs increase sales, create jobs, and thrive in the competitive retail grocery segment.
This Weekend’s Farmers Market Schedule
New wrinkles in the market schedule. As you’ll see, we’re into the overlap between the outdoor and indoor market seasons; the early indoor adopters are now included in this schedule.
Also, because there isn’t a tremendous number of indoor markets in Illinois, I am repeating last year’s practice of providing the schedule for winter markets across the state. PLEASE let’s crowd-source… If you see any winter markets you know about that are missing, please let me know.