Green City Market's Chef BBQ Was Fire
Chefs and beers and cocktails, oh my.
So Much Food
A late summer heat wave broke just in time for the annual Green City Market Chef BBQ Thursday (September 7). Cloudy with a little breeze, some might have even called it a little chilly. But no worries, because you never had to walk far before encountering a grill cooking tasty meats or veggies over a roaring hot flame.
A couple of thousand food lovers rambled among the trees at the south end of Lincoln Park, Green City Market’s flagship location.
There were so many restaurants and chefs representing, doling out tasting portions of meat- and veggie-based recipes, washed down with some of the area’s best craft beers, spirits and wines. The only sad thing for me was yet another reminder that I don’t have the capacity for gluttony that I had when I was younger. This limited me to just a couple of handfuls of samples, but everything I tried was delicious.
This annual event is a fundraiser for the Green City Market non-profit organization to run its nationally known farmers markets in Lincoln Park and West Loop, its food education programs, and its programs that increase food access for less wealthy shoppers by tripling the value of federal and state food assistance benefits for farmers market purchases.
Chefs played a huge role in Green City’s founding in 1999 and its growth into our region’s most influential farmers market. And one of the unique facets of the Chef BBQ is the number of well-known chefs who participate by cooking and/or serving to the event’s attendees. If you haven’t been to a Chef BBQ yet, make a mental note for next September, as it’s a rare opportunity to get close up to some of our area’s top leading culinary artists.
Enough words… here are some chef photos, with more food photos to come on Saturday.
Rick Bayless of Frontera Restaurant Group.
Darnell Reed of Louella’s Southern Kitchen.
Sebastian White of The Evolved Network and Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe.
Leigh Omilinsky of Daisies.
Paul Virant of Gaijin.
Paul Fehribach of Big Jones.
Arshiya Farheen of Verzênay Patisserie.
Christine Cikowski of Honey Butter Fried Chicken.