Preserving Family Heirloom Recipes

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Presented by Valerie J. Frey
Sock It To Me Cake

Heirloom dishes and family food traditions are rich sources of nostalgia and provide vivid ways to learn about our families’ past, yet they can be problematic. Many family recipes and food traditions are never documented in written or photographic form, existing only as unwritten know-how and lore that vanishes when a cook dies. Even when recipes are written down, they often fail to give the tricks and tips that would allow another cook to accurately replicate the dish. Continue reading →

Food in the Midwest: More Interesting Than You May Think

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Cynthia Clampitt

The history of the Midwest is remarkable for many reasons, not least of which is the diversity of its population, and therefore of its regional cuisine. Everyone contributed to what was developing,  from the Ojibwe harvesting wild rice in Minnesota to Belgian hoteliers in Chicago inventing new dishes. There were Cornish miners in Michigan, Bohemians in Nebraska. Swiss farmers in Wisconsin, Chinese in Missouri, Germans in Ohio, and so many more. Foods found here married with introductions. Traditions of dozens of nations mixed and evolved and added to the richness of a region that became famed for the abundance of food it provides, but that is sometimes hard to define because of its variety.  Continue reading →

Two Great Chefs: Chicago’s Evolution as a Food Mecca

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Kris Hogan, Tony Mantuano, John Hogan, Cathy Mantuano 

Come join us as two of Chicago’s most acclaimed chefs, John Hogan and Tony Mantuano, look back on their 40+ year careers in Europe and Chicago, and reveal how our city has evolved as a world class food destination since the 1980’s, the significant changes in the restaurant industry, the farm-to-table movement, and their vision of restaurants in the future. Continue reading →