April 21--Another star-studded food and wine festival is headed to Chicago, this time in August, and tickets are going on sale today.
Call it Chefapalooza. I certainly plan to.
Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. for the inaugural Chicago Food + Wine Festival, which will take place Aug. 28-30 in Lincoln Park (the main entrance will be near Stockton Drive and LaSalle Street). Created by Charlie Jones (founding partner of C3 Presents, which produces Lollapalooza), Christina Grdovic (senior veep and publisher of Food Wine magazine) and Texas chef Tim Love, the event will feature Grand Taste Tents offering food, wine and cocktails; a Chef Showcase featuring interactive cooking demonstrations; and several special events.
The lineup of chef names is formidable. The advisory board is made up of Jimmy Bannos, Rick Bayless, Graham Elliot, Jose Garces, Stephanie Izard, Paul Kahan, Tony Mantuano and Art Smith. Other chefs who have signed on include Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp (Honey Butter Fried Chicken) Cameron Grant (Osteria Langhe), Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde), Brian Huston (Boltwood), John Manion (La Sirena Clandestina), Chris Marchino (Spiaggia), Charlie McKenna (Lillie's Q), Matthias Merges (Yusho, A10, Billy Sunday), Amanda Rockman (Nico Osteria) Guiseppe Tentori (GT Fish Oyster), Mindy Segal (Hot Chocolate), Jared Van Camp (Nellcote), Tom Van Lente (Dove's Luncheonette), Paul Virant (Vie, Perennial Virant) and Takashi Yagihashi (Slurping Turtle).
In addition to the two days (Saturday and Sunday) of tastings, demos and book signings, there will be separately ticketed events. Feast Under the Stars is a Friday-evening event featuring a five-course, outdoor dinner; Toast Taste will be a Saturday-night event featuring tastings from 16 top chefs and live music; Last Call will be a late-night Saturday event featuring tastings by top pastry chefs.
Single-day admission is $175; the Last Call, Toast Taste and Feast Under the Stars events are $75, $225 and $225, respectively. An All-In Ticket, $550, will get you into everything.
To purchase tickets and for more information, go to chicagofoodandwinefestival.com.
pvettel@tribpub.com
