If you've ever wondered how chefs create insanely complicated plates with a million different ingredients, we've got the video for you. more ›

The best local food event of June is taking place next Wednesday from 6-9, and you should buy tickets right now. Local Food Wisdom is teaming up with the Lincoln Square Chamber of Commerce to host a screening of "Ingredients," an all-local meal and an expert panel of farmers and business owners. Best of all? If you buy a (frankly, really cheap) ticket, you'll get tons of discounts to use all over town. more ›

When the Morton Salt company tagged its best-selling table salt with the line “when it rains it pours”, few could have imagined that phrase would be prophetic of a growing gourmet industry. Simple iodized salt, though still a staple on most tables, has lately been eclipsed by the culinary juggernaut that is sea salt. From entrees to desserts, the use of sea salts by chefs and confectioners has become both an enticement and a mark of excellence. But what is the big deal? How is sea salt different from what mom and dad used to fill the shakers we did not want to put down as kids? The industry is booming, Luckily it does not take much for one to become a sea salt connoisseur. more ›

If you missed the debut screening of "Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root" last month, you've got another chance this Sunday, March 27. Actually, even if you saw the movie last month, see it again - this event is too good to miss. Chef Dirk Flanigan has created a four-course meal to accompany the movie, which will be screened in the private Theodore Ascher room at The Gage. The meal will feature local meat and produce from Cook's Bison Ranch, Nichols Farm, Swan Creek Heirloom Farm and Seedling Orchard. The cost is $75, and the menu is after the jump. But wait, it gets better. If you make reservations by 5 PM on Thursday, you will be entered into a drawing to win a special prize from the sponsor, Local Food Wisdom. more ›

Do you love local food? Do you care about where your food comes from? Buy tickets for Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root, a new documentary by Brian Kimmel. Ingredients focuses on the small ways that consumers can change the food world, presenting an encouraging message of possibility and change. Huffington Post called it an "eloquent, edible argument for sustainability and seasonality," and you can see it right here in Chicago. Plus, get some great food from Gaztro-wagon at the same time. more ›

Spring harks the arrival of several vegetables and greens: asparagus, for one. more ›

We were watching Iron Chef America the other day (Battle Redfish!) and noticed someone using black garlic, which Alton Brown informed us was a rare treat in kitchen stadium. The judges were certainly excited when they tasted it. The Le Bernadin episode of this season's Top Chef New York also mentioned black garlic. And The Washington Post's Bonnie Benwick featured it as the new 'it' ingredient in her article on February 24th. So what's all the fuss about? What the heck is black garlic? more ›

Within the last year or so, Brussels sprouts seem to be popping up as a side dish on every restaurant menu we lay eyes on. As we happen to love this oft-reviled vegetable, we consider this true progress, but we know a lot of people are skeptical. If mistreated, the Brussels sprout is a uniquely disgusting vegetable, but in the right hands, it can be so scrumptious that you forget you’re eating something healthy. Below are a few good spots to order them, and a fool-proof recipe to convert even the staunchest hater. more ›