New videos were released this weekend showing Pandel, chef of the soon-to-open Balena, making homemade Tajarin and Chitarra. Watch and drool. more ›

Stephanie Izard's Goat Tour, which promotes the Girl and the Goat chef's first cookbook, the newly released Girl in the Kitchen, made its hometown stop last night - and if the plates served up to celebrate the occasion are any indication, Izard's handsome anthology of recipes is destined for a lot of use in many a home kitchen. more ›

A fabulous launch party, benefiting Share our Strength, starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday night. more ›

It's perfectly fitting that this benefit dinner is at Vie, Paul Virant's locally-inspired Michelin-acclaimed restaurant. more ›

At the Daley Plaza Farmer's market, an event is taking place today that will make any Iron Chef fan happy. Three great Chicago chefs, Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Luca Corazzina (312 Chicago) and Iliana Regan (One Sister) will be competing to become the "Master of the Market." Starting at 11:30, they will have one hour to shop and prepare a dish, made entirely out of ingredients from the market. The event is sponsored by Country Financial and the City of Chicago. more ›

We spoke with the Bristol's John Ross about their new restaurant project with the red hot BOKA Restaurant Group, slated to open in November. more ›

If you're a food lover and you weren't at Family Farmed Expo on Saturday, you'd better have a darn good excuse. The Expo, which showcased chefs, farmers, producers and retailers over three days, opened to the public on Saturday for a blow-out event. The delicious extravaganza also included chef demos and workshops, appearances by local celebs, and a lot of great samples. Most of all, the Expo had a great sense of community and purpose - a gathering of people who care about great food, local farmers and protecting the environment. more ›

Outstanding in the Field, which produces a series of touring farm dinners across the country (check out our 2009 review of their dinner at Kinnikinnick Farm with Stephanie Izard and Ryan Poli, for an example) announced their 2011 farm dinner schedule over the weekend. more ›

Marbled, juicy, flavorful…delicious. The lard-type breed pig, the Mangalista, would give your everyday bacon a strong run for its money, if only it was a bit more accessible and a lot less expensive. Mark Schumacher and his friends thought exactly this when trying to purchase the pricey Mangalista meat online. more ›

The Magalitsa pig, also known as the "curly haired hog," is a breed of pig that originated from Hungary and the Balkans known for its thick wooly coat. The meat from a Mangalitsa pig is also rich in fat and is reputed to have a flavor and texture similar to Wagyu beef. In gourmet circles Mangalitsas have eclipsed mulefoots as the new trendy pork. more ›

Thursday night some of Chicago's best chefs will be preparing dishes for Toque, an event to benefit Children's Oncology Services, Inc. The benefit takes place at Harold Washington Library Center (400 S. State Street) and will includes cocktails and a degustation menu as well as both a silent and live auction. Tickets are $250 each. Bill Kurtis, founder of Tallgass Beef Company, will be the Master of Ceremonies and the Chef Coordinator for the event is Michael Kornick of MK, one of our favorites. Featured Chefs include: more ›

A couple weeks back a post ran about Cochon 555, the snout-to-tail pork competition Sunday at the Drake Hotel featuring Graham Elliot Bowles, Stephen Dunne, Chris Pandel, Patrick Sheerin and Sam Burman. Each of them is tasked with breaking down and preparing a heritage breed pig for eating. Since then your humble food and drink editor was invited to be one of the judges for the event. I have no earthly clue what I bring to the table that chefs Koren Grieveson, Rick Gresch, Seth Siegel-Gardner and Doug Sohn don't, but it should be a fascinating time. more ›

Taste TV, the food and fashion Web network that brought their Chocolate Salon to Symphony Center last autumn, has been organizing a series of judged snout-to-tail competitions across the country in recent months. "Cochon 555" pits five chefs against each other, each of them given their own heritage pig to break down and cook, paired with wines from five boutique wineries. Think "The Whole Hog Project," complete with the same mission of raising awareness about endangered breeds of swine, without the focus on one breed. more ›

George Rasmussen of Swan Creek Farms provides quality artisan meats to restaurants throughout the city. More recently, Rasmussen has been a beneficiary of spent brewers grain from Goose Island's Clybourn brewpub. One of the early hits of John Manion's still-evolving menu overhaul there is the sliders made from Swan Creek's "beer-fed" pork. While making local deliveries a week ago Rasmussen lost his truck, trailer, generator and a lot of food intended to customers to a fire. more ›

What would you do to have brunch with Gale Gand? Give up your firstborn? Eat balut? Bail a relative of Todd Stroger's out of jail? more ›

Last night Mindy Segal brought together some of the best chefs in the city to celebrate Hot Chocolate's fourth anniversary with a $100 per person dinner to benefit Share Our Strength, a non-profit that works with local food banks, restaurants and community groups to combat hunger at home. Segal is the chair of Share Our Strength's "Taste of the Nation" event, scheduled for August 13 at Ravenswood Billboard Factory (Full disclosure: this Chicagoist staffer is also on the event committee). more ›

Break out your party hats, on Monday, February 23, Hot Chocolate is celebrating its 4th birthday by hosting a ridiculous five course dinner complete with appropriately paired craft beers. Even better, ticket sales will benefit Share Our Strength, a national non-profit working to end childhood hunger. more ›

Our annual Thanksgiving recipe posts are among our favorites to write. Judging from soem of the responses received in our inboxes, you like them, as well. This year, we wanted to add a new twist to the theme for the holidays. more ›