Category Archives: Culinary Historians of Chicago

International Inspirations— Culinary Lessons Learned From the Road

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Presented by Chef Christopher Koetke
Vice President, Strategy and Industry Relations, Kendall College

New meeting location: Weiss Memorial Hospital

For the last 5 years, Chef Koetke has been criss-crossing the globe, visiting 20-25 countries annually. In 12 of these countries, he set up culinary programs or worked with local culinary schools. Additionally, he works on sustainability issues as the Feed the Planet Chairman for World Chefs were he routinely is talking to people around the world. Continue reading →

The Chicago Food Encyclopedia Debuts

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Presented by Coeditors Carol Haddix and Colleen Sen,
and contributors Judy Hevrdejs and Scott Warner

 Everyone knows that Chicago is the world’s greatest food city – and we now have a book that tells you why: The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Edited by Carol Mighton Haddix, Bruce Kraig and Colleen Taylor Sen, this 300- page volume is a free-ranging portrait of a culinary paradise, with nearly 300 entries written by 70 of the city’s leading academics, journalists, and industry experts. 

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From Cacao to Craft Chocolate Stories from the past, Sustainability for the Future

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Presented by Valerie Beck,
Founder, Chocolate Uplift, and Valerie’s Original Chocolate Tours

Editor’s note: Podcast ends abruptly during question period due to unknown technical issues.

Video clips shown during this talk

Media montage
CNN Cocoanomics

According to Chicago native Valerie Beck, “chocolate can change everything, from our mood, to the world.” So passionate is Valerie about chocolate, that after graduating from Harvard Law school, and practicing in the United States and Europe, she followed her heart and founded Chicago Chocolate Tours in 2005, to introduce chocolate lovers to small-batch chocolate shops and bakeries. Continue reading →

‘Tis The Season for Preserving, Part 2: The Joys of Jewish Preserving

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Presented by Emily Paster
Author, Co-Founder, Chicago Food Swap

Jewish cooks, even casual ones, are proud of the history of preserved foods in Jewish life, from the time of living in a desert two millennia ago to the era in which Jews lived in European ghettoes with no refrigeration during the last century. In a significant sense, the Jewish tradition of preserved foods is a symbol of the Jewish will to survive. Continue reading →