Join us on Wednesday, April 16. 2025 @ 7 pm: Via Zoom

Chef Jason Hammel

Come join us as one of Chicago’s most iconic chefs, Jason Hammel, takes us back to the 1990s, tracing his journey from East Coast outsider to one of the Midwest’s most passionate advocates for hyper-local sourcing. He’ll recount the early days of the farm-to-table movement, the founding of Green City Market, and the rise of restaurants dedicated to local ingredients. Lula Café, his restaurant of 25 years, has grown in parallel step to this movement, and through stories from its early days, he’ll highlight the challenges and resistance that once stood in its way. Continue reading →

Join us on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 @ 7 PM, via Zoom

Come join us to hear about the virtually unknown history of the many Asian heritage chefs who have prepared meals for U.S. presidents extending back more than a century and continuing to the present day. Yet many of their names are largely unknown.

Our speakers, Adrian Miller, a two-time James Beard Award-winning author, and culinary authority Deborah Chang, will present stories from their just-published book, Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History: Cooking  to the President’s Taste. Continue reading →

Come join us as Jacquelyn Ottman, a fifth generation member of New York’s “meat royalty” as she serves up a beefy history of Ottman & Company; her family’s storied meat purveying company supplied some of NYC’s top restaurants, and was considered the “Tiffany’s of the meat business.” Ottman’s also pioneered many of the packaging and prep innovations still used in our kitchens today.  Continue reading →