Looking for Cool Events? We've Got 'Em
Lots of ways to do good and do well from our local food community
Tonight: Pilot Light at Wrigley Field French Market
Sorry about the late notice, but my friends at Pilot Light — the chef-driven Chicago non-profit that helps schools integrate food education into their lessons — will be participating today in the weekly French Market at Gallagher Way, the park on the west side of Wrigley Field (3635 N. Clark St.).
Visit Pilot Light between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., bring your kids, and get a booklet for the French Market Scavenger Hunt featuring market vendors (pictured above). And click below to learn more about Pilot Light.
Chicago Chefs Cook Event’s Table-Service Twist
Chicago Chefs Cook is a coalition of leading chefs and Good Food advocates who have held a series of amazing walk-around tasting events to raise money to help people facing crises or to build our local food community.
The group is back at it again, but with a twist. Its Emilia-Romagna Dinner Series, to raise funds to help farms in that flood-stricken region of Italy, runs five nights, from Thursday, June 8 through Monday, June 12. The dinner series is in partnership with the National Italian American Foundation.
And instead of dozens of chefs and restaurants providing samples of their cuisine, diners can visit any of 10 restaurants for a chef’s experience designated for the event, with proceeds from each going to the flood relief fund. The participating restaurants (in alphabetical order) are Alla Vita, Gene & Georgetti, Gibsons Italia, Italian Village, Monteverde, Nonnina, Petterino’s, RPM Italian, Ummo, and Volare.
Chefs from around the city are collaborating on the experiences at host restaurants, while others are adding dishes to their menus to support the event.
The press release from Chicago Chefs Cook follows.
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Chicago Chefs Cook, the award winning chef-centric philanthropic organization, is teaming up with the National Italian American Foundation to bring together some of Chicago’s most notable Italian restaurants for the special Chicago Chefs Cook presents: The Emilia-Romagna Dinner Series to support farmers in the northern Italian region who lost their crops and homes to the devastating “once in a century” floods.
"The Chicago Chefs Cook organization was created to ensure that those in the most dire state of adversity are nourished," stated Chef Sarah Stegner (Co-Executive Chef of Prairie Grass Café and member of the Chicago Chefs Cook leadership team along with Eda Davidman, Jodi Fyfe, and Darren Gest). "The devastation experienced by farmers in the Emilia-Romagna region is on the collective conscience of the Chicago culinary community and we could not just sit on the sidelines watching."
Participating restaurants will host chef-curated dining experiences across Chicago from Thursday, June 8 to Monday, June 12. Proceeds will benefit the Italian American Relief fund in an effort to support agricultural recovery in this beloved Italian region. An overwhelming amount of rain caused disastrous flooding in the eastern side of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy in mid-May, causing fatalities as well as billions of euros in destruction, particularly in agricultural areas.
Dining experiences will range from chefs’ tables to exclusive group dining packages inspired by the Emilia-Romagna region. Each restaurant will put their own signature touch on the offered culinary experience for an utterly unique opportunity only available for this limited time. Additionally, a diverse array of Chefs across the city’s cultural tapestry have raised their hands to partner on a course for a host restaurant or have added dishes to their own restaurant’s menu from which profits will be donated.
For example, on Thursday, June 8 at 5:30 p.m., Gene & Georgetti will host a collaborative, five-course dinner with featured dishes from Executive Chef Cristiano Bassani, Tortello Pastificio, Chef Sarah Stegner and Chef/Owner Genie Kwon of Kasama. See the full menu here. Cost is $350 per person, with all proceeds going directly to the Emilia-Romagna Regional Federation of Coldiretti, Italy’s Agricultural Association. Reservations will be available via OpenTable.
“We were heartbroken to witness the disaster happening in Italy,” says Michelle Durpetti, Managing Partner of participating Gene & Georgetti. “The Italian-American community in Chicago was eager to come together to raise money to help farmers and agricultural businesses rebuild.”
Demera Ethiopian Sparks a New Tigray Fundraiser
A Night of Hope is a chef-driven fundraiser for children displaced by a civil war in the Ethiopian province of Tigray. The event will be held Sunday, June 11, starting at 4 p.m., at The Guild Row events space in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood (3130 N. Rockwell St.) — and it has considerable overlap with Chicago Chefs Cook.
Tigist Reda, chef/owner of Demera Ethiopian Restaurant in the Uptown neighborhood, is a native of Tigray, and her passion for helping those living in Spartan conditions in a refugee camp in Sudan spurred Chicago Chefs Cook to hold a fundraiser for Health Professionals Network for Tigray last September.
Demera is now at the center of Tigist’s June 11 fundraiser, which will benefit the International Society for Better Health Access (ISBHA) non-profit that is providing Tigray children with quality education, empowering young minds to overcome adversity and build a brighter future.
The event is also a celebration of women chefs. Joining Tigist in what promises to be a delicious evening are Christine Cikowski of Honey Butter Fried Chicken, Diana Davila of Mi Tocaya, Sandra Holl of Floriole, Margaret Pak of Thattu, and Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe.
More information from the event’s producers is below the button to order tickets.
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Help us make a difference in the lives of refugee children at the Hasheba camp. We're working with ISBHA non-profit providing Tigray children with quality education, empowering young minds to overcome adversity and build a brighter future.
But our impact goes beyond the classroom. We also recognize the importance of holistic development. By maintaining essential activities such as nutrition programs, healthcare initiatives, and micro-financing opportunities, we empower the community towards self-sufficiency and long-term success.
Your presence at the Fundraising Dinner will not only provide crucial support, but send a powerful message of solidarity. Together, we can break the cycle of poverty and create a world where every child has access to education and opportunity.
Chefs to Shine on James Beard Awards Panel
And this Saturday afternoon (June 2), there’s an opportunity to learn from leading chefs as part of the events surrounding the James Beard Foundation Awards ceremony that takes place next Monday, June 5 at the Lyric Opera House.
The first panel is titled Food Access & Sustainable Communities, and it includes three of Chicago’s brightest lights: Rick Bayless of the Frontera Restaurant Group, who has won multiple James Beard awards; Maya-Camille Broussard of Justice of the Pies, a 2022 James Beard nominee for Best Baker; and Erick Williams of Virtue Restaurant and Daisy’s Po-Boy and Tavern, the 2022 winner of the Best Chef: Great Lakes award.
Here is description from the organizers followed by a button to rsvp for free. This panel will take place at Kendall College at National Louis University, 2nd floor atrium, 122 S. Michigan Ave. from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.
A sustainable community is defined by its ability to manage its human, natural, and financial capital to meet current needs while ensuring adequate resources for future generations. Equitable Food access is a key feature of this model, but what happens when the human capital is unable to sustain itself? In this discussion, chefs and activists address this challenge, what drives it, and their own solutions toward a better future while investing in the present.
The second panel is titled The Abundance Setting x JBF Panel: Who’s Watching the Kids? The Abundance Setting is a Chicago non-profit that works to ensure fairness for women in the culinary industry.
This panel has an even bigger Chicago connection. Chefs Beverly Kim of Parachute restaurant and Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe — co-founders of The Abundance Setting — will be joined by Diana Davila of Mi Tocaya, Tigist Reda of Demera Ethiopian Restaurant, Becca Grothe of Tribecca’s Sandwich Shop, and Erick Williams of Virtue Restaurant.
According to the organizers,
The decision to advance a career in the culinary and hospitality industry or to have a family often becomes the deal breaker for women in this industry. This often is the source of attrition of women leadership in this industry, especially in the kitchen. We will be speaking with women chefs who have been juggling many roles in the restaurant business to gain insight into how they have made it work, the challenges, and what meaningful changes are needed for women to continue to progress.
This event takes place at a different location at Kendall College, on the 7th floor of 18 S. Michigan Ave., starting at 3:15 p.m. The discussion will be followed by a reception with delicious treats from Demera, Floriole, Tribecca’s, Verzênay Patisserie and Soul & Smoke.
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