The James Beard Awards Are Coming

By Melissa McEwen in Food on Apr 30, 2015 3:25PM

Brace yourself

This year is the first year that Chicago is hosting the James Beard awards and it happens this Monday. To celebrate there are several events happening throughout the city, from restaurant specials to special dinners with chefs visiting Chicago for the event.

Starting today over 80 restaurants are participating in James Beard Eats Week with special menus and dishes. Duck Inn (2701 S. Eleanor St.) is doing a savory green garlic bread pudding with a duck egg and ramps that's inspired by James Beard’s own leek bread pudding. Salero (621 W. Randolph St.) is offering a 6-course menu inspired by James Beard's American Cookery. View the full list of participating restaurants here at Chose Chicago's PDF.

Chef Marc Vetri, nominated for Outstanding Chef, will host a four course dinner of pastas from his cookbook Mastering Pasta at Nico (1015 N. Rush St.) on Tuesday May 5. Tickets are $150.

Jessica Largey (Manresa in California) and Ari Taymor (Alma in California), both nominees for Rising Star Chef, will be cooking at Intro (2300 N. Lincoln Park W.) from Friday, May 1 through Saturday, May 9 (excluding Monday, May 4). They'll be joined in the kitchen by Intro chefs CJ Jacobson and Erik Anderson, as well as Chef Ben Sukle (Birch in Rhode Island) and Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis (Creative Director of New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education). Tickets range from $95-$125 and can be purchased at Intro's website.