Four Top Women Chefs Lined Up for Abundance Setting Dinner
Get tickets now for this fundraiser at Evanston's fabulous LeTour restaurant
Medal-Worthy Benefit on Tuesday
There are many fundraising dinners that benefit great causes while providing memorable dining experiences. But the dinner that takes place on Tuesday (March 19), at Amy Morton’s highly regarded LeTour restaurant in Evanston, may be one for the books.
The event, which starts at 6 p.m., is described as a Celebration of Strong Women. Proceeds will help fuel the efforts by The Abundance Setting non-profit, based in Chicago, to press for equitable treatment of women — especially women with children — who are working and hoping to build careers in the culinary industry. It also coincides with Women’s History Month.
And the four women chefs who will prepare the five-course dinner, with beverage pairings, have all made history themselves as winners of James Beard Foundation awards.
Debbie Gold is executive chef and managing partner at LeTour, which opened in November 2022. She won the James Beard Best Chef Midwest Award in 1999 for her work at The American Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
Beverly Kim is co-founder of The Abundance Setting. She teams with her husband, Chef Johnny Clark, at the Ukrainian cuisine restaurant Anelya, and previously thrilled diners at their Parachute and Wherewithall restaurants. Beverly and Johnny shared the James Beard Best Chef Great Lakes Award in 2019 for their work at Parachute.
Sarah Stegner is chef/co-owner at Prairie Grass Cafe in suburban Northbrook, which opened in 2004. One of the culinary sector’s leading advocates for positive change, Sarah is an Abundance Setting board member. She won two James Beard Awards during her previous 20-year tenure at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Chicago, for Rising Star Chef in 1994 and for Best Chef Midwest in 1998.
Gale Gand is a nationally acclaimed pastry chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, television personality, teacher, entrepreneur and mother. She won two James Beard Awards — for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2001 and Outstanding Service in 2007 — during her tenure with Tru, which closed in 2017 after an 18-year run as one of Chicago’s most acclaimed restaurants.
Amy Morton has built a legendary career as a restaurateur. LeTour, which has a French-Moroccan vibe, is the successor to Found Restaurant, her previous Evanston success.
Click the button below to make your pre-paid reservation for Tuesday’s dinner. It’s a great opportunity to support an important cause while enjoying a meal that you’ll want to tell your friends about.
Local Food Forum is a great admirer of The Abundance Setting. Click the links below to read more about the organization.
Abundance Setting Seeks Applicants for Mentoring Program
Turning Up the Heat to Support Women in Culinary
Advocating for Mothers in Restaurant Jobs
Register Now for May 3 Hunger & Health Summit
You can reserve your seat now for the Hunger & Health Illinois Regional Summit, which takes place on Friday, May 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Kennedy King College, 740 W. 63rd St. in Chicago.
This important event — presented by Illinois SNAP-Education and part of the Eat.Move.Save. collaboration of University of Illinois Extension and UI Health — will cover a wide variety of food as medicine, food access and food equity issues, and includes a healthy food chef demo.
The cost is $10, fee waivers are available, and lunch is included.
Click below to register and view the event's full agenda, including speakers.
Health’s Not Just About Diet… Let’s Move!
And speaking of Illinois Extension and UI Health, here’s the latest installment of its weekly wellness-focused feature, part of UI Extension’s Eat.Move.Save. program.
This week’s feature reminds us that being and staying healthy is not about food only — exercise is very important too. The piece highlights how much we should move ourselves to be in tip-top shape, and makes the lovely suggestion that we get some of our exercise by visiting Cook County’s more than two dozen forest preserves.
It also includes a QR code for a voluntary, anonymous survey to assist Illinois Extension and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in advancing the goals of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
Thanks to UI Extension’s Bianca Bautista, who creates these informative features.
Bob’s World, and Welcome to It
There are many things that we can designate as a sign of spring in Chicago. The first blooming flowers and trees. The start of baseball season. The opening of the outdoor farmers market season, and the arrival of ramps and asparagus to kick off the season of local bounty.
With our high-rise view over Belmont Harbor, we have another: The start of sailing lessons. This year, Day One occurred on Tuesday (March 12). They even caught a break with the day’s unseasonably warm temperatures… more often the first day of sailing is a character-building exercise.
Barb and I don’t sail but we do walk, so we went to my beloved North Pond in Lincoln Park to enjoy the weather. We’re a while away from the arrival of fluffy gosling and ducklings as well as herons and other wading birds. So here’s a photo tribute to the year-round denizens of this in-town nature sanctuary.
So many turtles.
Stumbled on a turtle convention.
This little guy was ready for its closeup.
Honk if you love geeses.