Restaurant Sustainbility Panel: Success, Opportunity, Challenge
Leading Chicago Culinary Pros Gathered at Daisies Restaurant on Nov. 9
Daisies , a standout on Chicago’s restaurant scene, hosted an industry panel on sustainability on Saturday. Located in the Logan Square neighborhood, it could hardly have been a more appropriate location, as Daisies is one of the most sustainability-focused restaurants not only in Chicago, but anywhere.
Daisies owner Joe Frillman introduced the participants, all local culinary leaders: Ashok Selvam of Eater Chicago, who moderated; local farm-to-table pioneer Paul Virant (Petite Vie, Vistro Prime, Gaijin); Kelly Clancy of Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants; Thomas Leonard of Daisies; Greg Wade of Publican Quality Bread; award-winning chef Mariya Moore; and Norman Fenton of Cariño.
This article on the Local Food Forum website captures many of the insights, with more to come in a pair of follow-up stories.
Bob's Birthday Fundraiser Benefits The Evolved Network Non-Profit
I’ll be wrapping up another trip around the sun on Thursday (November 14). To mark the occasion, I've rolled out this special promotion.
If you become a new paid subscriber between now and November 21, I will donate 20 percent of the proceeds — that's right, 20 percent — to The Evolved Network non-profit.
The Evolved Network is a Chicago non-profit that works to improve the lives of underprivileged youths through cooking lessons, food education and farm-to-table experiences.
I greatly admire Chef Sebastian White, who founded the organization in 2020, for his visionary efforts to not only provide food education and cooking skills, but to instill confidence, creativity, and the benefits of teamwork in students, most of whom have grown up in circumstances that provide limited choices.
The proceeds from new paid subscriptions that accrue to Local Food Forum will bring it closer to being financially self-sustainable and enable me to continue its mission of promoting positive change across local food ecosystems and helping build a better food system.
I became a first-time business owner at a ripe old age and please trust that it’s still not easy for me to ask people for money. But I started this niche publication in 2021 because I observed so many people — rural and urban farmers, farmers market managers and vendors, co-ops, farm to table chefs, non-profits, food educators, food equity and food sovereignty advocates, and more — who were doing great work but were largely ignored by the mass media. With your help, I can increase its financial viability.
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