Taste of the Nation Kickoff Party at Studio Paris

Consider it the first choice morsel before feasting on the full entrée. Taste of the Nation Chicago is throwing a kickoff party next Wednesday, June 27 and you’re invited. Yes, you.

Studio Paris 

Mix and mingle with fellow No Kid Hungry supporters on the stunning Studio Paris rooftop, just above the Paris Club. There will be a bevy of signature Paris Club dishes to taste, as well as fancy cocktails to drink. Chicago’s own DJ Kwest_on will provide the ambience, spinning grooves under the setting sun. And if it rains, never fear – Studio Paris features a retractable roof. 

So what else is in it for you, besides a great night out? Well a lucky few will receive door prizes upon entry, including the chance to win FREE Advocate tickets to the Taste of the Nation Chicago gala event on August 8^th. Advocate tickets include early entrance to the party and VIP lounge access, among other things. And if you’ve already purchased an Advocate ticket you can win a FREE upgrade to our Benefactor ticket level, earning yourself complimentary valet parking on August 8^th, access to the VIP lounges and reserved seating in the Lakeside Luxe Lounge. Voila! 

More important than enjoying the view on Wednesday night is that you’ll also have the chance to be part of a truly memorable campaign towards combating childhood hunger. Perhaps you’ve already seen the photos of well-known Chicago chefs posing with their No Kid Hungry pledges, and now you have the opportunity to join them. Take the pledge while you’re there, and we’ll take your picture. Every new signature gets us just a little bit closer to reaching our goal of ending childhood hunger in this country by 2015.

Purchase your ticket to the event here.  We hope to see you at Studio Paris on Wednesday, mes amies!

Event Details:

Taste of the Nation – Chicago Pre-Event Kickoff Party June 27 at Studio Paris, 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Ticket price is $25.00 with all proceeds going towards Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation Chicago

No Kid Hungry Chicago Chef Campaign

Stephanie in the alley behind Girl & the Goat.

Several weeks ago members of the state legislature gathered at a Chicago elementary school with local media, joined by representatives of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, students, parents, and staff from Share Our Strength and Taste of the Nation Chicago. The gathering marked the launch of No Kid Hungry Illinois, a statewide collaborative effort supported by government, schools, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and anchored by Share Our Strength. No Kid Hungry, a national program developed to help eliminate childhood hunger by 2015 on a state-by-state level, has the potential to do a heck of a lot of good for hungry children in Illinois—and we're taking this very seriously at Taste of the Nation.

You've seen us post a lot to twitter and Facebook about the "No Kid Hungry Pledge," but maybe you haven't quite understood exactly what that means. It's pretty simple: if you think no child should ever skip a meal or go hungry, you're going to want to take this pledge. Here's what you agree to:

I believe that no child in America should go hungry. By pledging today, I add my voice to the national movement of people committed to ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.

And here's more about No Kid Hungry:

Yes. That's Jeff Bridges, The Dude, working as a spokesperson for this very cause. Pretty effective, right? And that's the very reason we've teamed up with Galdones Photography for our own No Kid Hungry campaign.

Over the next couple of weeks we'll be visiting Chicago kitchens to photograph chefs who have been advocates and supporters for Share Our Strength and Taste of the Nation Chicago. We started with chefs Jared Van Camp (Nellcôte, Old Town Social) and Stephanie Izard (Girl & the Goat), shooting the two of them in the alley behind Stephanie's restaurant. And just like Jeff Bridges, they're encouraging you to take the pledge.

Blake films as Huge shoots Jared.

You'll see these photographs on display at Taste of the Nation this August, and we're internally discussing other means in which they might be used to help drive awareness for this cause. But one of the biggest ways you can help? Take the pledge and share it with friends. So far over 150,000 people have taken the pledge—a great number, but we should be able to get that many people on board just in Chicago alone.

Taste of the Nation Kicks Off With Food Network Documentary "Hunger Hits Home"

The Taste of the Nation Chicago team is back, and more ready than ever to take on Share Our Strength’s goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015. A big part of that – in addition to planning our annual gala benefit – is working to educate the public on the realities of childhood hunger here in the United States.

Our message got across in a major way last week when The Food Network aired a documentary co-produced with Share Our Strength called "Hunger Hits Home." Narrated by Hollywood actor Jeff Bridges, the film profiles three American families who have unexpectedly found themselves struggling to put food on the table.

Their stories are startling. "I've gone about three days without eating," says one bespectacled boy from Norfolk, Virginia. "I've been able to do that," he says, adding, "sometimes." The children featured here all come from hard-working, loving homes and the desperation their parents feel at not being able to provide for them is palpable.

Sadly, they’re not alone. Childhood hunger affects as many as 16 million children in this country – that’s 1 in 5 kids you see on the street. It's become such a growing problem that current Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack has labeled it an issue of national security.

What’s encouraging is seeing how both private citizens and politicians have become energized around this issue. On the local level, food pantries like Minnie’s in Plano, Texas, help make the choice between cooking dinner and going without a little easier for families in the community. Share Our Strength has also successfully partnered with governors in Maryland and Virginia to help make ending hunger a priority in their states.

The message here is simple. Whether it’s donating to your local food pantry, writing your state legislator, or simply taking the pledge to end childhood hunger, this is a goal we can all get behind.

We hope to do our part here in Chicago. Join us, and buy your ticket to the 2012 Taste of the Nation event today.

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.

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.