With a lineup filled with food seminars, cooking demonstrations, wine classes and a beautifully equipped Viking Culinary Stage at the Pritzker Pavilion, you would think that Chicago Gourmet would’ve been a Mecca for home cooks looking to jazz up their dishes. Think again. While some of the seminars were informative (most notably Greg Hall on beer and cheese and Paul Bartolotta on seafood), others were thinly veiled promos for books, products or restaurants. more ›

So Marcus and yours truly attended last night's opening reception for Chicago Gourmet on a picture perfect night atop the Harris Theatre at Millennium Park. the evening featured opening remarks from Mayor Daley, Illinois Restaurant Association President Sheila O'Grady and sponsors, an auction benefiting Green City Market, and an open buffet featuring chefs from Chicago's sister cities. more ›

Just added to the list of participants for September's Chicago Gourmet event are Koren Grieveson of avec, Jose Garces of Mercat a la Planxa, the Hearty Boys duo of Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh, Takashi's Takashi Yagihashi, Christophe David of NoMI and Terrance Brennan of the soon-to-open Chicago location of his Artisanal Bistro and Wine Bar. more ›

We know that Chicago is a restaurant hot spot. While out-of-town writers particularly tend to maintain the clichés (earned, mind you) of Chicago being a steak and potatoes, deep dish pizza town, out-of-town chefs know the real score. more ›