Mayor Daley, Rick Bayless, Barbara Fairchild, and a few dozen of the best chefs in the city, crowded into the Chicago Cultural Center yesterday to drink sparkling wine before noon and announce the lineup for the third annual Chicago Gourmet. The event was basically a chance for everyone involved to declare how much they loved Chicago, and no person alive can do that better than our own Mayor. He took his few minutes of speech time to point out that our city was recently honored as the fifth best food city in the world, which, he pointed out, “Is ahead of San Francisco and New York.” We think he is talking about this list from Trip Advisor. Anyway, the event picked up a big sponsor this year with Bon Appétit, so Editor Barbara Fairchild promised a bigger and more exciting event. Below are the gritty details.
When and Where:
The event is held at Millennium Park on September 25th and 26th.
Cost:
One-Day passes are $150. Two-Day passes are $250. You can purchase tickets at www.chicagogourmet.org
Burger Event:
Art Smith and Cat Cora will host a competition for the best burger in Chicago on Friday, September 24. That will only set you back $75 and will be held at Harris Theatre’s Rooftop Terrace.
Grand Cru Tasting
There will be two 90-minute Grand Cru Tastings, which will feature “the finest wines in the world, as selected by our Master Sommeliers.” The event costs $175 per person and attendance is limited to 200 a day.
Chefs Involved:
Rodelio Aglibot, Sunda
Jerome Bacle, Courtright’s Restaurant
Jimmy Bannos, Heaven On Seven and The Purple Pig
Jimmy Bannos Jr., The Purple Pig
Rick Bayless, Frontera Grill/Topolobampo/XOCO
Graham Elliot Bowles, graham elliot
Frank Brunacci, Sixteen
George Bumbaris, Prairie Grass Café/ Prairie Fire
Niall Campbell, Firefly Grill
Gregory Carso, Metropolitan Club
Michael Cisternino, Tavern at the Park
John Coletta, Quartino
Federico Comacchio, Phil Stefani’s 437 Rush
Judy Contino, Bittersweet Pastry Shop and Cafe
Cat Cora, Bon Appétit
Chris Curren, Blue 13 Restaurant & Bar
Christophe David, NoMI
Radhika Desai, English
Stephen Dunne, Paramount
Dirk Flanigan, The Gage
Phillip Foss, Lockwood
Jo-Marie Frigo, Nonna Santi’s Biscotti
Klaus Fritsch, Morton’s The Steakhouse
Dirk and Terry Fucik, Dirk’s Fish and Gourmet Shop
Gale Gand, Tru
Jose Garces, Mercat a la Planxa
Luigi Garcia, RIVA Restaurant
John Gatsos, Tavern on Rush
Carlos Gaytan, Mexique
James Gottwald, Rockit Bar & Grill
Laurent Gras, L20
Koren Grieveson, Avec
Mark Grosz, Oceanique
Kevin Hickey, Four Seasons Hotel
John Hogan, Keefer’s
Sandra Holl, Floriole Bakery
Tony Hu, Lao Szechuan
Brian Huston, The Publican
Stephanie Izard, The Girl & The Goat
Randal Jacobs, Elate
Paul Kahan, Blackbird
Gene Kato, Japonais
Paul Katz, Harry Caray’s Restaurant Group
Bill Kim, Belly Shack
Eddie Lakin, Edzo’s Burger Shop
Mariano Lanfranconi, 5411 Empanadas
Bernie Laskowski, Park Grill
Chan Le, Le Colonial
Dale Levitski, Sprout
Joshua Linton, Aja
John Manion, Branch 27
Tony Mantuano, Spiaggia
Shawn McClain, Spring Restaurant Group
Michael McDonald, One Sixtyblue
Jason McLeod, Balsan at the Elysian Hotel
Nathaniel Meads, Fritz Pastry
Mario Navarro, Gene & Georgetti
Martial Noguier, Café des Architectes
Chris Nugent, Les Nomades
Terry Opalek and Michael Frontier, Terry’s Toffee
Chris Pandel, The Bristol
Nicole Pederson, C-House
Ryan Poli, Perennial Restaurant
Tony Priolo, Piccolo Sogno
Toni Roberts, C-House
Thierry Rautureau, Rover’s Restaurant
Alain Roby, Hyatt Regency Chicago
Arun Sampanthavivat, Arun’s
Marcus Samuelsson, C-House
Patricio Sandoval, Mercadito
Mario Santiago, May St. Cafe & Catering
Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate
Alex Shalev, Sola
Jackie Shen, Red Light
Mike Sheerin, Blackbird
Bruce Sherman, North Pond
Michael Shrader, N9NE Steakhouse
Art Smith, Table fifty-two
Mark Sparacino, Prosecco
Chad Starling, aria
Sarah Stegner, Prairie Grass Café
Todd Stein, Cibo Matto
Giuseppe Tentori, Boka Restaurant
Jacques Torres, Jacques Torres Chocolate
Rick Tramonto, Tramonto’s Steak and Seafood/ RT Sushi Bar & Lounge
Jared Van Camp, Old Town Social
Paul Virant, Vie
Randy Waidner, Gibsons Restaurant Group
Carol Wallack, Sola
Stephen Wambach, Epic
Michael Wisner, Zapatista
Takashi Yagihashi, Takashi
Shelley Young, The Chopping Block
Andrew Zimmerman, Sepia
Randy Zweiban, Province
