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| Chicago Food + Wine Festival |
The first annual
Chicago Food +Wine Festival took place last week and was a HUGE success. Chicago Food + Wine Festival is a partnership between Charlie Jones, founding partner of C3 Presents (whose festival production credentials include Lollapalooza and Austin Food + Wine Festival), chef Tim Love and Christina Grdovic, SVP/Publisher of FOOD & WINE. The festival brought world-class chefs, sommeliers, cocktail experts, culinary personalities, and musicians to Chicago.
The weekend kicked off with a party Friday night at the newly-renovated
Renaissance Chicago Downtown Hotel hosted by
Food & Wine and
Bizarre Foods' Andrew Zimmern! The event featured delicious food and beverages from Chicago's best including
Honey Butter Fried Chicken,
Do-Rite Donuts,
The Violet Hour and more. I had a blast and even had the chance to snap a selfie with Zimmern himself!
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| Nachos from Honey Butter Fried Chicken |
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| Pistachio Meyer Lemon Do-Rite Donuts |
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| Andrew Zimmern & Me |
Tasting sessions on Saturday and Sunday provided interactive presentations and samplings of wine and spirits, chef demos, food tastings, book signings and more. I stuffed my face and found several new favorite wines during the Saturday tasting session!
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| Chicago Food + Wine Festival |
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| Chicago Food + Wine Festival |
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| VieVite Rose |
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| Wine Tasting |
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| BellaVista Cuvee Brut |
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| Pork Rillette From River Roast |
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| Filet Mignon Sliders from Gibson's |
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| Zucchini From MK Restaurant |
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| Elotes from The Florentine |
I also enjoyed Chef
Stephanie Izard's live demo which featured a preview of her upcoming restaurant, Duck Duck Goat. Chef Izard prepared slap noodles, spring rolls, and an ice cream spring roll dessert with sesame
Black Dog Gelato! Other demos on Saturday included sessions from
Jose Garces,
Tim Love,
Mark Oldman, and
Rick Bayless.
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| Chef Stephanie Izard's Cooking Demo |
Some of my favorite bites included a sweet and savory profiterole from
Nico Osteria's Pastry Chef Leigh Omilinsky, a tuna tostada from the soon-to-open
Earl's Kitchen + Bar, and a DIY (DI-Pie) pie from
Hoosier Mama Pie Company. Attendees chose their pie crust, filling, and toppings to create the mini pie of their choice!
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| Profiterole From Nico Osteria |
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| Tuna Tostada From Earl's Kitchen + Bar |
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| DI-Pie from Hoosier Mama Pie Company |
Overall, the first annual Chicago Food + Wine Festival was a great weekend! For more information, please visit
www.chicagofoodandwinefestival.com. Stay tuned for more info about Chicago Food + Wine 2016!
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