Chicago Game & Gourmet
Meat wholesaler · Canaryville ·
Finest game meats, bison, duck, venison, exotic cuts
Finest game meats, bison, duck, venison, exotic cuts
"A bougie, travel-themed food festival returning to Millennium Park and the Harris Bank Theater rooftop terrace Sept. 21–24 that aims to revive downtown tourism with the slogan “All Roads Lead to Gourmet.” Privately funded and produced by the Illinois Restaurant Association, the event has adopted a smaller post-pandemic footprint, features a star-studded lineup of well-known chefs and themed activations across the weekend, and sells tickets online at a wide price range intended to accommodate both general admission and VIP experiences." - Naomi Waxman
"Another major food festival is scheduled Thursday, September 21 to Sunday, September 24 in Millennium Park, placing it soon after the relocated late-summer festival and adding to the season's concentrated event calendar." - Ashok Selvam
"An annual culinary festival staged in Millennium Park that, after pandemic-reduced editions, returned with a fuller multi-day program (Sept. 22–25), featuring marquee events such as the Grand Cru tasting (with sessions including Sept. 24), more than 40 participating chefs, and popular activations like the sold-out Hamburger Hop. Sponsored elements (for example by Lexus) help bring high-profile chefs together, and the festival serves as both a showcase and a reunion for culinary peers, even as some traditional components like the Grand Lawn have yet to be fully restored." - Ashok Selvam
"This annual food festival that brings together many of the city's most acclaimed restaurants and chefs will retain the pared-back 2021 format, staging a series of in-person auxiliary events Sept. 22–25 under the theme “Creating a Stir.” Programming will include a kickoff Tacos and Tequila showcase hosted by Rick Bayless, a returning Hamburger Hop hosted by Stephanie Izard, and a two-session Grand Cru premium wine-and-bites event; organizers have postponed the large Grand Tasting on the Great Lawn in Millennium Park until 2023." - Naomi Waxman
"For its 13th year I observed that Chicago Gourmet shifted to a mostly virtual format and substantially reworked its usual $200-a-day weekend: ticketing now ranges from $50 to $175 for the dinner series, $20 to watch a virtual demo, and meal kits cost $210. Organizers replaced the traditional Hamburger Hop with a “Can’t Stop the Hop” featuring 100 local restaurants offering the chosen burger on their own turf, and scheduled multi-course dinners at 10 restaurants from September 14 to 30. I noted organizers framed the change as a way to support the industry rather than canceling — Illinois Restaurant Association CEO Sam Toia said the team “never used the word ‘cancel’” — and emphasized fundraising for the new IRAEF Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, which will provide one-time $500 grants to eligible restaurant workers. The festival also made outreach efforts to include more BIPOC chefs (including open calls and research using lists like Black People Eats), though I observed that under 10 percent of Hop restaurants are BIPOC-owned and only 4 percent are Black-owned." - Naomi Waxman