The Taste of the Nation Team Serves Up Meals at "A Just Harvest" on Father's Day

A few of our Taste of the Nation Chicago committee members joined the community kitchen, "A Just Harvest" on Father's Day to help dish out dinners for those in need. Located in Roger's Park, "A Just Harvest" serves meals 365 days a year with the help of local partners, volunteers and community donations, making it the largest stand-alone soup kitchen in the Chicago area.


The TOTN Chicago crew helped prepare the food, set up the dining room, stuff gift bags--since it was a holiday after all!--and serve the over 100 diners that arrived to the restaurant-style community kitchen. Families, seniors, and those who just might need a little extra help, are welcomed daily by caring staff and volunteers to sit and enjoy a hot meal. And from the looks of it, AJH has been busy. They served over 54,000 meals in 2010!

Share Our Strength's mission to end childhood hunger synced perfectly with the mission of "A Just Harvest"- to provide hot, nutritious meals to individuals and families, no questions asked. A special thanks is also in order for "A Just Harvest's" Executive Director, Rev. Marilyn Pagán-Banks, who stopped by to give us a general overview of what they are working on this year and who they are serving at the kitchen.

This was my first time volunteering at a soup kitchen, but it will not be my last. I enjoyed getting the chance to interact with the diners (I was the girl with the fruit punch, so I was pretty popular!) and it was a humbling experience for all of us, I'm sure.

For more information on "A Just Harvest" or to get involved, visit www.ajustharvest.org. Hope to see you there soon!

ANNOUNCING: Taste of the Nation Chicago 2011

The Grand Ballroom at night via Navy Pier.

Friends, the day is fast approaching. After last year's incredible party at the Aragon Ballroom, the question kept getting tossed around about what to do about the heat at the Aragon? Jokingly, we said, well why not move the event to Navy Pier. In our dreams, right? Never in a million years...

Or not. Two months from today exactly, guess what famous Chicago landmark we'll be taking over. Yup. That very same pier.

We've waited with bated breath to break the news, and today is finally the day we're spilling the beans. We're talking Navy Pier, in the Grand Ballroom, with more space than we could ever hope for, including an outdoor terrace that overlooks the water. Somehow, we're thinking air conditioning won't be so much of a problem this year... and if the weather cooperates, the outdoor terrace will be prime location to watch the Navy Pier fireworks. Just saying.

And back this year are favorites from year's past, including Stephanie Izard (Girl and the Goat), Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia, Terzo Piano), Paul Virant (Via, Perennial Virant), Mindy Segal (HotChocolate), Dale Levitski (Sprout), David Posey (Blackbird), Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Giuseppe Tentori (Boka, GT Fish and Oyster), Shawn McClain (Green Zebra), Jason Hammel (Lula, Nightwood), Michael Kornick (DMK, MK), Mark Steuer (The Bedford), Paul Fehribach (Big Jones), and Jared Van Camp (Old Town Social).

Yup, we have it all to ourselves via Art Hill.

Not to mention desserts from Jessie Oloroso (Black Dog Gelato), Paula Haney (Hoosier Mama Pie Co.),  and restaurant pastry chefs like Kady Yon (Boka, GT Fish and Oyster, Perennial Virant), Amanda Rockman (The Bristol), and Ben Roche (Moto) and more.

Tickets this year are $95 for presale General Admission, and $150 for VIP—but VIP sales have gone so well that today is the very last day to buy them. No joke, after today, individual VIP tickets will no longer be available. Get on the phone with your wife, husband, sister, or whoever and get that planning moving if you want to jump in on the VIP action, because you'll be kicking yourself later on if you miss out—and buy them here.

What to expect via Laura Meyer.

We'll have loads more of news to report back on soon, including the return of the chef ride-a-longs with Matt Maroni of Gaztro-Wagon—which means ticket give aways, a kick off party at La Colombe's yet-to-open West Loop cafe, big news about the event itself, and a couple other tricks we have up our sleeves leading up to the event itself. Be sure you're following us on twitter and Facebook, and check the blog regularly for updates from myself and Elizabeth Hamel of the Sun-Times, new this year to the Taste of the Nation committee!

Navy Pier, guys. I mean, come on. Not sure it gets much better than that...

Hot Chocolate: The 666 Dinner

Whatever you're planning on doing on February 28th, if it's not sitting snug at a Hot Chocolate table, you might want to reconsider—and if that's too far out to think about, well think about it now. For months Mindy Segal has been putting together the pieces for Hot Chocolate's 6th anniversary dinner, and now those beans have been spilled. Now it's time to put a little No Kid Hungry spin on this bad boy, Segal style.

Mindy's calling it her 666 dinner. And the poster at the top of this post? That was made up specifically for the dinner, and she's selling them that night at $100 a pop, which really isn't so bad when you consider the poster is gonna be printed on high quality paper and autographed by all six of the chefs cooking with Mindy that night—and oh yeah, the proceeds from not only the poster, but also the dinner, are benefitting Share Our Strength. And if $100 is too big a splurge? She'll be selling them them without the chefs' ink, too.

And those six chefs that'll be signing the poster? They're all women. 6 years. 6 chefs. 6 courses.

Plating at last year's dinner via Stephanie Bassos.

Here's the lineup:

Host: Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate

Koren Grieveson, Avec (Chicago)

Stephanie Izard, Girl & the Goat (Chicago)

Naomi Pomeroy, Beast (Portland)

Missy Robins, A Voce (New York)

Celina Tio, JULIAN (Kansas City)

What you need to do is call Hot Chocolate today and grab however many seats you need. Every time I talk to Mindy, the guest list gets longer and longer. They're at (773) 489-1747.

The dinner is selling quick, and a seat costs $200, a portion of which is tax deductible since proceeds benefit Share Our Strength. New Belgium is stepping up with the brews and each course will have its own pairing.

And if for whatever reason all of this isn't enough to plant a X on your calendar that night, here's a look back at last year's anniversary dinner (also via Stephanie Bassos) with Rick Bayless, Ben Caulfield, Paul Kahan, Bill Kim, Michael Kornick, Nick Lessins and Paul Virant—which also benefitted Share Our Strength.

Win Dinner for 4 at Alinea

Earl Grey, lemon, pine nut, caramelized white chocolate
or,  as they say at Alinea, dessert, via Penelope's Loom's stream.

There's the foodie community, and then there's those who blog about it. And those who blog about it hold one blogger in fairly high esteem—for most of us, her blog attempts to accomplish the impossible. That blogger is Carol Blymire, and her blog is Alinea at Home. You heard of it? Thought so. Her mission is pretty simple, "I'm cooking my way through the Alinea cookbook. Because I can. I think."

And when one thinks they can pull this off, and blogs about it? Yeah, they start turning a head or two. And she has a loyal following, it's pretty safe to say.

Which is why she's teamed up with Share Our Strength to help raise money to fight childhood hunger through the holiday season. And in her own signature way, she's built milestone incentives to keep the gifting momentum on the up:

$2,500 -- I will cook something from the Noma cookbook. [Sourcing the ingredients for this has been FUN.

$5,000 -- I will go Christmas caroling at The White House. [I hope I don't set off the Dork Alarm.

$7,500 -- I will do a row of somersaults in front of the Capitol Building. [Wonder if I can get one of my favorite Senators to join me?

$10,000 (our goal, by January 16) -- I will dance along with the Wii videogame The Michael Jackson Experience.

And then there's the last milestone, if the drive raises over $10k... Alinea.

Just watch that video, no matter how much you know or don't know about Alinea, and you'll understand how out of this world the place is—unless you're on of the few who have actually experienced it. There's nothing like it. Period.

And Grant Achatz and Nick Kokanas of Alinea have stepped up and are allowing Carol to give away dinner for four at Alinea, for any of us, as long as we've donated at through the drive, at any amount. Are you letting that sink in? Donate any amount through this drive, and you'll have the chance to eat the dinner of a lifetime—for free.

Now Carol is writing from D.C., and her readers are following her from all over the world, and that's great news for the fundraising potential of this drive for Share Our Strength—but it's us living here in Chicago who should truly appreciate the magnitude of this potential prize. We live here and hear about the place non-stop. We live here, and short of a Christmas miracle, just can't afford the place. And those of us who live here and can afford the place? Well, then there's the reservation problem. They're next to impossible to come by. So, Chicago, here's your chance.

Let's throw some weight behind this and win one for the home team, huh? There isn't a person I know who can't afford even $1 to fight childhood hunger, especially at the prospect of eating dinner at Alinea with three of his or her friends.

Here's Carol's original post, announcing the fundraiser. And here's the official donation page—remember, only donations made here will be eligible for the Alinea dinner, and the dozens of other prizes Carol is giving away.

Best of luck to everyone, and let us know how if you've given so we can give your due props via twitter!

Amateur Bartender Contest is on at Prairie Fire!

We realize that most people in Chicago associate Taste of the Nation to one thing—the event. But Taste of the Nation is only one small arm of its far-reaching parent, Share Our Strength. That's why, with our integration of social media this past year and our many relationships in this city, we've started thinking more and more about opportunities to keep the Taste alliances alive, even when the event is a distant thought.

That's why we've teamed up with Green City Market lynchpin and Chef Sarah Stegner and her team at Prairie Fire in the West Loop. The restaurant opened last year to great praise, and for some time now has been hosting guest bartenders on Tuesday nights to raise money—the tips—for the guest of honor's charity of choice. On most nights, for just two hours of bartending, a charity will see something close to $1,500. And all at no cost to the charity itself.

Dan Sviland's Rhubarb Rita via R.I.A.

And it all starts TODAY. To participate is simple, if not more fun you'll have with a contest than ever before, as it calls for bit of creative thought with booze. It's an amateur mixology competition, held in two rounds! We'll lay out most of the details below, but read Sarah's blog for more here.

1. "Like" Prairie Fire on Facebook. Do so here.
2. Watch the above video and draw inspiration—or go to your favorite bar and conduct your own research there...
3. Create a cocktail. Do so using at least one local ingredient, like Dan Sviland does with Hum in the above video.
4. Take a picture of the drink. Get up close to it and really be sure the photograph is as flattering to your drink as can be—the judges won't be tasting the drink, so this is a crucial component.
5. Upload the picture to the Prairie Fire Facebook page.
6. With the picture, include a short intro to the cocktail, as well as a recipe to its construction.
7. Then, just sit back and wait—along with guest judge and Chicago mixologist Adam Seger, we'll choose TWO winners after the Dec. 10 deadline.
8. The two winners will then both be invited for dinner for 4 on Dec. 14...
9. Which is when they'll also invite all of their friends to watch them duel behind the bar at Prairie Fire from 6-8pm, making their winning cocktails.
10. Chefs Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris will create food to pair with each cocktail, which will be served during the duel.
11. At the end of the duel, whomever has raised the most tips will be the winner—and the tips from each bartender will go to Share Our Strength.
12. And in the theme of the 12 Days of Christmas, I'm adding a twelfth step, just because I can—It's December 1 and I'm listening to Christmas music. Give me a break!

And on top of all of this, the ultimate winner will appear with Sarah and George at Green City Market on Dec. 22 for a live demo—plus be invited to sling drinks behind the bar all by his or herself, for a charity of his or her own choosing.

If I were entering this competition, I'd be thinking of a way to show the judges something that'll separate me from all of the other entries. Green City Market might be limited this time of year, but what's at the market that I can feature as a my local ingredient that you don't often see at a restaurant? And they're letting me use local as anything regional to Chicago, not just from Illinois itself. So what spirits and products are coming from Indiana and Wisconsin and Michigan and the other states?

The Bee's Knees, also from Dan Sviland via R.I.A.

And dates to keep in mind: The deadline to submit my drink's picture and recipe on Facebook is Dec. 10. If I'm one of the two winners, I need to be free on Dec. 14 for the duel at Prairie Fire from 6-8pm (really, everyone should plan on coming and help raise money for us!). And then, I need to be free on Dec. 22 to demo with Sarah and George at Green City Market.

We can't wait to follow along with the fun on their Facebook page, and we'll be sure to post entries on twitter and so on. Getting in touch with people who like food and drink is crucial to the No Kid Hungry Campaign—you're the ones who are in the best position to help us end childhood hunger by 2015. And rather lose your attention with constant nagging, we hope this is one way that might keep you engaged in the battle!

Best of luck to our participants, and we can't wait to see everyone at Prairie Fire December 14th!!

Some people to follow as the contest goes on:

- Sarah Stegner on twitter and Facebook

- Daniel Sviland on twitter and Facebook

- Prairie Chefs blog

- Adam Seger on twitter and Facebook

- Ellen Malloy on twitter and Facebook

A Tasteful Pursuit Dons a Few Stars

Paul has his star and isn't slowing down via RIA.

Hi Chicago, had enough of the Michelin Man yet?

I kind of laughed at myself today because at one point, when reading all the responses and comments and opinions on this morning's Michelin star announcements became too much, I had to walk away from the computer—which is when I had a thought back to when I first had heard of the Michelin Guide, years ago. I remember thinking, oh, that must be some distinguished French society of chefs and gourmands. Cool. But of course, that's not really it. I mean, the first time you saw the cover of the guide didn't you think, humph, what the heck is the tire guy doing on a food guide?

Because, really, what the heck is a tire guy doing on the cover of a food guide?

But that's the point. This little guide has tipped this city on its fork-wielding head, and its endured the silly branding of the tire guy to still remain the most respected and sought after measure of fine dining in the world.

And that's why it's kind of exciting to say that Share Our Strength will host one of the first collaborative food events featuring multiple Chicago Michelin star winning chefs: A Tasteful Pursuit. Pretty cool that a sentence like that can be written for the first time in this day and age, huh?

And the kicker? We still have a few seats open for the event.

Here's the lineup...

Newly starred Chef Tony Mantuano via Spiaggia.

— Chicago Michelin Star recipients —

Host: Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia, Terzo Piano)

*     *     *

Sarah Grueneberg, Executive Chef (Spiaggia)

Paul Kahan, (Blackbird, avec, The Publican)

Megan Neubeck, Pastry Chef (Terzo Piano)

Takashi Yagahashi (Takashi)

— joined by celebrated guest chef —

Mark Vetri, (Vetri—Philadelphia)

The dinner will be held at Spiaggia, with a welcome reception beginning promptly at 6pm—with both silent and live auction items present.

So get your tickets—their value just sky rocketed with the bragging rights that come with eating one of the first dinners featuring these Michelin rock stars. Buy them here.

And while you're at it, take the No Kid Hungry pledge, too. After all, Jeff Bridges did it—and if the Dude is on board, we all should be on board...

See you tomorrow.

Fighting Hunger with Three Days To Go

(In a grocery store, this table of food would cost $63.

If obtained through the Greater Chicago Food Depository programs? $5.41)

So here's the thing. In all of the hooplah of throwing together such a large event with an overwhelming cast of chefs, it's easy to loose sight of what this event is all about. Who are the recipients of the money raised? How much food does your ticket buy for a family? How many kids are impacted by this one event? Internally at Taste of the Nation we call the answers that reveal what's beneath the surface of these questions, Hunger Messaging—and our own Chuck Sudo is the Bruce Wayne of Hunger Messaging. Next Thursday night, you'll see Hunger Messaging all around you.

But we're not talking decorations and fancy words that might convince you to throw in some extra money because that's what you're supposed to do—we're talking serious issues that just aren't forward enough on our consciousness. Take a look:

• In Chicago, 1 in 4 children are food insecure.
• 82 percent of Chicago Public School Students qualify for free or reduced lunches.
• The Greater Chicago Food Depository distributed 62 million pounds of food to pantries and shelters throughout the Chicago area last year.
• 780,000 Illinois families received food stamps in June 2010, an 11.9 percent increase over June 2009.
• Over 200,000 children in Chicago live in "food deserts."

And this is barely a fraction of the messaging Chuck has put together for us. But I'm treading a fine line here when I group these messages together and use phrases like "barely a fraction." I remove the reality, the weight of what's being said in each message.

Think about it. In Chicago, 1 in 4 children are food insecure.

How many kids are on a youth baseball team? A ballet class? 1 in 4 is a dangerous ratio that hits far too close to home for all of us, and yet I think we don't see it. Did you have any idea that nearly 800,000 families received food stamps this June? Let alone that it's an almost 12% increase from the year before? What a painful blow to the goals of Share Our Strength—which is to wipe out childhood hunger by 2015.

2015. That's pretty darn soon.

And yet, we're not backing down from this goal. That top photo to this post is pretty staggering when you take in how much those groceries cost you and I when we shop at the super market. Because, for us, $63 makes a lot of sense. That's not staggering. It's the impact that organizations like the Greater Chicago Food Depository have on communities that have my jaw continually dropping the more involved I get with Share Our Strength. To think that those groceries could cost a family just $5.41—well, there's some difference making going on there. Big time.

And then there's Near North Health Services, another beneficiary of Taste of the Nation. Their Operation Frontline participants are taught how to shop for groceries on a budget, utilizing the most with minimal resources—the Chicagoist's Megan Tempest wrote a great feature on this program last May. 

And the Illinois Hunger Coalition, too.

(A common site in Chicago of an abandoned market via Chuck Sudo)

And as markets continue to close in Chicago, the food stamps that are given out to help families through this tough time become less and less helpful. In his research leading up to Taste, Chuck's unearthed this problem. It increases the need and demand for the $5.41 assistance that the Greater Chicago Food Depository provides, which increases the need for further assistance from donors and events by the surrounding community. Hence, Taste of the Nation is as important as ever this year.

Because what Chuck's seen is that as the grocery stores close, families turn to corner convenience stores for their food—where they can buy liquor, cigarettes, and whatever processed foods are available at these stores as their nutrition, and in that order. They're using their food stamps to buy junk food.

(A main grocery source for much of Chicago via Chuck Sudo)

Taste of the Nation is as big as it is because the battle we're fighting requires it. These organizations won't continue to make an impact without our support.

Sure. There are still free tickets to be had as the days tick away leading up to the event—but if you've just been waiting for the right moment, unsure to buy or to wait for another shot at a give away, well don't you think that right moment is now?

Come next Thursday in this little town of ours, for those few hours, there won't be a greater gathering of food and drink in the world. Think about that—which, my friends, is saying something.

Buy your tickets. Write them off. And get your tushy over to what might just be one of the most unforgettable moments of your life. And help us start hitting the delete button on our Hunger Messaging, bit by bit, in the process, yeah?

There are 800,000 families waiting to thank you.