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

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.

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...

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.

Updates From the Land of Taste

(The Aragon Ballroom won't look anything like this next Thursday...)

Tickets. We're giving them away and you want them. Here's how:

Steve Dolinsky. Steve will be our auctioneer next week—and oh man are there some insane items this year... Paul Kahan and Mindy Segal as your private chefs while you talk music with the guys from Sound Opinions, for one—and all week he's been holding contests on his blog. That ends today. But, your chances to win the tickets aren't up just yet if you can convince him you're the most deserving.

He's asking you a simple question. What would you order off of Stephanie Izard's menu at Girl and the Goat and why, in fifty words or less. That's it. So get to his site, read today's entry, and win those tickets, yeah?

(Via Steph's twitter, this 5 lb. veal belly roast debuted earlier this week)

Gaztro-Wagon. As you must know by now, chefs have been teaming up with naanwich maestro Matt Maroni all week as we quickly approach August 12—less than a week away, mind you—and we're not letting up on bit.

As of right now, we have four more scheduled ride-alongs through next week, starting with Chef Michael Fiorello of Mercat a la Planxa hopping aboard midday tomorrow. Following Michael will be our own Elissa Narrow later that night, and David Carrier from Kith and Kin plus Todd Stein (cibo matto) and Kristine Subido (Wave) will join in early next week. So yeah. We're not letting up—just ask Phil Vettel. He's noticed.

(At the wagon this week for Taste ticket give-aways 

w/ Chef Marianne Sundquist of In Fine Spirits)

Foodie the App. I love this thing. What started as an iPhone exclusive has become, for this Verizon loyalist, an interwebz staple. Building a web site so that any and every one could jump on board with Foodie was plain and simple brilliance—if for no other reason than I get to choose my own prix fixe from Piccolo Sogno while you're forced to stick with the regular menu. That, and I booked a reservation at The Bristol while you had to wait an hour. You know, things like that.

And now they've partnered with us—and I don't think this could be any more painless. All it takes is a reservation. A simple, easy, special laden reservation booked through their system. That. Is. It. Do that, and you're giving yourself a shot at one of two pairs of tickets they'll give away at random next Thursday. You're going out to dinner at some point between now and next Thursday anyway, so why the heck aren't you booking that reservation through Foodie? For more, check out their blog.

See—we like making this easy on you. Happy Friday, and good luck!

Or just buy your tickets, too...

Find the Wagon!

(The Boar Belly Naanwich via Andrew Huff's photostream)

Had a meeting last night with the Taste committee, and we're approaching the final stretch. Really something to see everyone rally together like this—and mind you, it's ALL volunteer work—in the name of fighting childhood hunger. It's rare to come across an event that brings out so much good, and I think that shows in the work everyone has put in to this year's Taste.

And about this year's Taste... last week I promised opportunities to get in on free ticket action, and that begins today! Any minute now, Matt Maroni will be pulling his gaztro-wagon out of the driveway and park it somewhere on our Chicago streets—with the incredibly talented Phillip Foss of Lockwood and "The Pickled Tongue" by his side. Later this week Phil is hosting a speakeasy with several participating Taste chefs, and we're thrilled that he's willing to help promote Taste in the process today with Matt. So—when that clock hits the appropriate time and you get your belly out the door for some lunch, find out where Matt's parked the gaztro-wagon, yeah?

Doing that will for sure appease your appetite, but it might just get you those free Taste of the Nation tickets, too! Find the truck. Order some grub. Ask for the tickets! But, when asking for the tickets, say the code word... "Aragon." Aragon. That's it!

And stay tuned all this week—Matt will be hosting a guest chef nearly every day leading up to the event next Thursday. And yeah, every day a chef joins in? More tickets will be handed out!

Looking forward to partying with whoever wins—and maybe you could bring me a naanwich while you're at it...

Things Are Heating Up!

(Pastry Chef and co-chair Mindy Segal of HotChocolate, via Joseph Storch)

To say we're feeling the weight of Taste of the Nation as it approaches us—now less than two weeks away—is an understatement. There are emails and TV appearances and tweets flying through the air and interwebs like you wouldn't believe! But, the way I see it, this is a true testament to the dedication and commitment we all have to this truly worthy event. There's not a single person involved who doesn't want this Taste to be nothing less than the premiere event of the year. And you know what? It might just be...

And as we rally up the final ticket sales and get ready for the event, we're also reaching out to all of you with a tremendous amount of opportunities to score tickets. On us. That's right, we've got quite a few tickets that we're handing out for free! So... how the heck is this gonna do down?

Several ways.

As you probably know, today was a historic day for the city of Chicago—Matt Maroni hit the road with his gaztro-wagon and sold his first naanwich! And then another and another and... yeah. You get it. Well, we're teaming up with Matt starting tomorrow and running on through August 12, when he'll be parked in front of the Aragon Ballroom to greet all of you as you arrive for the party. But tomorrow, sometime around midday, he won't be at the Aragon. No. No. Tomorrow Matt will be serving his killer street food at Green City Market—and it's there that we'll be handing out the first free pair of tickets.

How? Pretty simple. The first person to show up to the truck tomorrow, order some food, and ask for the  two tickets? They get 'em. Easy, right?

(via Green City Market's photostream)

But we won't make it so easy as the week goes on, which is when Matt will be joined by some of the city's best chefs for Taste of the Nation ride-a-longs—starting on Tuesday, August 3, when Phillip Foss hops on board and with his Tunisian Style Naanwich. Other chefs lining up are Kristine Subido (Wave), David Carrier (Kith and Kin), Todd Stein (cibo matto), and Michael Fiorello (Mercat a la Planxa)... with still more signing on. And as each chef hops on board with Matt, so too does another opportunity to win a new pair of Taste tickets.

And if that's not enough, we're teaming up with foodie the app, too! If you haven't signed up with foodie yet—well, get on it. Not having an iPhone is no longer an excuse, as foodie's new website now allows all of Chicago to enroll in their free, members-only exclusives. I'm enrolled, but I can't win the tickets. Someone win 'em for me??? Point is, a reservation may or may not score you a shot at those tickets, and you need to enroll with foodie to make those reservations... hint. hint.

We're also working closely with restaurants like Perennial and Landmark to run more opportunities to dish out the tickets, so we hope you not only stay tuned to the blog and twitter and Facebook feeds—but that you're sharing the updates with friends so increase your odds of landing the prize.

And in the meantime? Why not check out Blackbird chef Mike Sheerin with Bristol mixologist Debbi Peek and our own Elissa Narrow with Steve Dolinsky, all of whom appeared on ABC 7's Midday News this morning to give a sneak peek what what to expect this year...

And buy your tickets!!!