The Scoop on Green City's Chef BBQ
Part 1 of a Q-and-A with Executive Director Mandy Moody about the 9/9 event
Inside Look at Green City Market’s Big Fundraiser
Green City Market’s Chef BBQ fundraiser has always been one of the most anticipated food and beverage tasting events in Chicago… maybe even more so this year, because the bustling live event was cancelled last year due to COVID safety restrictions. More than 70 restaurants and other providers are already lined up for the event, scheduled for the evening of Thursday, September 9.
Having attended several Chef BBQs when I was in my FamilyFarmed mode, I can tell you that it is one sumptuous event, and the biggest challenge is choosing what to sample without overindulging. But the Chef BBQ fuels more than just appetites — it provides the financial resources to operate the nonprofit market and to provide recipients of food assistance benefits with matching funds so they can buy more healthy, delicious local food for themselves and their families.
Below is Part 1 of an excerpted interview with Green City Market Executive Director Mandy Moody, who provides background on Green City Market and how vital the proceeds from the Chef BBQ are in carrying out its missions. Part 2, to be published next week, will explore the impact of scheduling the event in early September, as opposed to its traditional mid-July date, on menu planning and expectations about the weather.
The only downside to past Chef BBQs in July is that, almost without fail, it was one of the hottest, muggiest days of the year. The average high temperature for September 9 is in the upper 70s, so fingers crossed on a more comfortable night out.
Click the button below or at the end of the article to learn more and purchase your tickets.
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Q: What can people expect at the Chef BBQ?
A: The Chef BBQ is Green City Market’s biggest event of the year. It is held right in Lincoln Park, where our market is held, and people can expect to just be inundated with delicious food and beverage. We're so fortunate to have incredible support from the Chicago culinary community and we have over 70 restaurants and beverage purveyors that will be providing unlimited tasting portions. They get to be really creative at this event and work with the farmers to figure out what's in season.
Q: You gave it the old college try last year with a virtual alternative to the Chef BBQ.
A: We were so grateful to have the support of Nude Dude Food, Chef Paul Virant [of Vie restaurant] and Cedric Harden from River Roast. It was really lovely to be able to engage a little bit more in the mission of Green City Market in the virtual format. But people are definitely missing that tasting experience because it's an event, really, like no other.
Chicago has many different culinary events throughout the year, but Green City Market Chef BBQ is really the only one where you are just sort of transported to all these beautiful farms through the food that you're eating. It’s just a unique experience like nothing else in the city...
As we were planning, we were thinking about how can we bring Chef BBQ back in a safe way... We safely operate markets that can attract up to 10,000 people on a Saturday throughout the course of the market day. Our primary goal as a nonprofit organization is to make sure that we can continue to connect shoppers with farmers, so priority number one through 2020 was bringing back the market experience... This year we feel really confident that we can bring a fantastic experience back and do it safely and keep people enjoying the food and the experiences they are so hungry for.
Q: Chefs really were fundamental in the creation of Green City Market and the concept of building out the local food community here in Chicago.
A: The market was founded by Abby Mandel [in 1999], but Rick Bayless [of the Frontera restaurant group] was also one of our original founders, as was Sarah Stegner [Prairie Grass Café]… They recognized that quality menus and the dishes on the menus comes from quality ingredients... The continued connection between chefs and farmers has been so critical in keeping Green City Market really vibrant and the Chicago culinary scene really vibrant and unique and delicious.
We have some interesting programs that we’re working on right now to keep chefs connected and that next generation of chefs that's coming up through the ranks, to really help them understand how important it is to source locally and to source seasonally from the onset.
Q; Green City really played a leading role in creating a farmers market culture in which shoppers can expect that the food they buy is produced in the Chicago region. Prior to that, a lot of farmers markets included vendors who bought and re-sold produce from the city’s wholesale markets.
A: I think what's really critical to understand is there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, ensuring that we're really upholding the locality of who we bring into market and the sustainability. We ensure that all of our farmers are third-party-certified as sustainable growers, and so it's important to us not just that they're growing locally, but they're doing it in a way that's really good for the planet and for future generations...
One of the things that I find so beautiful about the market, I hear stories all the time of chefs building true partnerships and friendships with farmers and saying, for example, “Hey, I heard about this really wild variety of eggplant. Could you grow that for me?” There's this shared passion and shared artistry that happens between the farmers and chefs... Bringing it full circle back to Chef BBQ, you see all of that in action, you see that collaboration and strong relationships present in what folks present at Chef BBQ.
Q: How are the chef-farmer pairings for the Chef BBQ determined?
A: We leave it up to the chefs to own that creativity. We do ask that most of their dish is sourced from our Green City Market farmers. We do have our eye on what folks are submitting, what they're going to be preparing, so that we don't end up with all one flavor profile... Chef BBQ kind of gives you this vibe of like grilled meats and smoked meats and things like that. But there are beautiful vegetarian dishes that are available at the event as well. Both for folks who are omnivores and for people who choose a vegetarian diet, there's plenty to enjoy at the event.
Q: It’s important that people know why you're doing this event. It's not just a great, indulgent night out, but it's supporting all of your important programs.
A: We are a nonprofit organization. We are reliant upon the generosity of our community. And so the barbecue is our largest event of the year both in terms of the scale and the wonder, but also in terms of its impact on our budget. That budget allows us to put on a year-round market for 50-plus farmers and food producers who really look to Green City Market as an anchor point in this city...
Markets are costly. There's things like permit fees and bathrooms and insurance. There are all these non-sexy items that go into making sure there's really a great experience for our shoppers and a really strong, solid marketplace for our farmers.
In addition, we also do a lot of work in food access. We have a Link [Illinois food subsidy] matching program where folks who are using their Link or their EBT card can come to the market and swipe their card, and then we will match dollar for dollar what they put on that card. [The match] is currently up to $15, but we're doing some research to expand that program because [federal] SNAP benefits are increasing on October 1, permanently. We're really excited about exploring what is possible, again through the generosity of the community and participation in events like Chef BBQ, where folks are giving of their resources to support those efforts.
The market itself is in Lincoln Park and in West Loop [both affluent neighborhoods] and you might wonder how much impact are you really having? On average we see about 1,000 shoppers coming through and using Link each year from over 50 different zip codes across the city. One of the reasons I think we attract so many people to our Link matching program is because it's donor funded. Folks can use those Link dollars and the matching funds on fruit and veg like they can at many other markets, but also on meat and eggs and bread. These staple products are really important to a nutritious, healthy diet...
We can't forget how critical that program is for our farmers. It generates an additional $30,000 in revenue for our farmers on an annual basis and that's no small amount of money going into the pockets of these farmers who are working so hard to grow food.