A few weeks back, we got a chance to have a long chat with Ann Wright, Deputy Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs. Wright was speaking at the Family Farmed Expo, promoting a new USDA initiative, "Know your Farmer, Know your Food" that works to promote local and regional innovations in American agriculture. Wright was an advocate for organic and sustainable agriculture and an agriculture advisor to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid before she was appointed to her current post, and has been at the USDA for almost two years. We talked with Wright about what the federal government can do to promote sustainable agriculture, the USDA's sometimes-troubled history with small farms and her belief that large-scale change in the way we farm and eat has already begun. more ›

Chicago-based food photographer Jeff Kauck has been shooting food for more than twenty years. He has worked on 11 cookbooks, been nominated for a James Beard Award for the Spiaggia cookbook and just finished "Salad as a Meal" with Patricia Wells. We sat down with Jeff to talk about visiting Wells on her Provencal estate to shoot "Salad." We also talked about what food photo nerds can do to improve their own shots and how he's never seen a food stylist use hairspray or shaving cream to spruce up food. Plus, he gave us an early peek at some beautiful photos from the book, due to hit bookstores in April. more ›

I have a confession to make - this interview isn't even a little bit objective. North Pond has been one of my favorite spots in Chicago for years, and it was the first fine dining restaurant I ever wrote about. When I got a chance to interview Bruce Sherman, the chef and co-owner of North Pond, I screamed like a little girl at a Justin Bieber concert - though not in front of the chef. Despite my enthusiasm, I had some serious questions for Chef Sherman. We talked to Chef Sherman about staying relevant, the challenges of owning a restaurant on park district land and why he is not a locavore. more ›

Last week, we took an in-depth look into L2O, with an opportunity to get Stolpman into the kitchen to photograph some of Laurent Gras' menu dishes and the preparation of them, while Jacy explained some of the design aesthetics of the restaurant (located in the space formerly occupied by Ambria). more ›

Alinea Chef/Owner Grant Achatz more ›

Author Michael Ruhlman more ›

We always thought the making of a chef started in a kitchen, and progressed from there. Anyway, as part of their "Traffic Jam" series, Steppenwolf Theatre is hosting a discussion this Sunday between Alinea owner/chef Grant Achatz and author Michael Ruhlman. The discussion, called "The Making of a Chef," will cover the "hypermodern" culinary movement of which Achatz is largely considered the herald, the place of the "celebrity" chef in America, and what defines excellence in an industry as increasingly PR-driven as the five-star dining concept. It should be an interesting conversation between two intelligent and passionate men; although Ruhlman's a skeptic of the science food movement, he sings the praises of Achatz. It seems to be a running theme among critics who regard molecular gastronomy as smoke and mirrors, but allow that Achatz is the exception to the rule. more ›

Executive Chef Bob Zrenner, Graze more ›

Doug Zell, CEO, Intelligentsia more ›

Greg Hall, Brewmaster, Goose Island Beer Company more ›

One need not be a foodie to know who are the big dogs on the Chicago culinary scene: Achatz, Trotter, Tramanto, Bayless, Kahan, Pluton, and on and on and on. They're talented, gifted, and their impact on the way the we all eat is immeasurable. These chefs, quite simply, are as important as any artist who calls Chicago home. more ›