Sheerin, Foss, Virant, Poli— sure, those names are draws. But the real star of two upcoming special chef dinners is long, plump and loves cold water. The wild Arctic char caught in the extreme northern waters of Canada became a hot fish last year when distributors introduced it— and its mild, supple orange flesh somewhere between trout and salmon— to Chicago area chefs. Ranking highly for sustainability (both in terms of the fish species, and the native Inuit communities who fish it), it’s everywhere on Chicago menus for the few summer months when it’s in season— and then when its waters ice over, it’s outta here till next year.
Supreme Lobster fishmonger-to-the-star-chefs Carl Galvan has recruited a glitzy array of chef talent to celebrate the tail end of Arctic char season. Wednesday, August 18th’s dinner will be in the upper salon of Blackbird, and the collaborating chefs will include Blackbird’s Mike Sheerin, Avenues’ Curtis Duffy, Lockwood’s Phillip Foss, Cibo Matto’s Todd Stein, Sepia’s Andrew Zimmerman and Brian Enyart of Topolobampo.
The next week, Wednesday, August 25th, David Carrier and Andrew Brochu of Kith & Kin will play host to another star-studded list including Paul Virant of Vie, Ryan Poli of Perennial, Chris Pandel of The Bristol and Jared Wentworth of Longman & Eagle. Each dinner is $125 per person (wine and spirit pairings included) and seating is limited to 60 people; call the respective hosting restaurants to make your reservation.