Destinations: Italy and New York Visit Chicago For Chef-Driven Tastings And Talks

October 2 - 4th the Brooklyn, New York based "Taste Talks" visited Chicago for a 2nd year to bring together foodies and culinary industry leaders for a series of workshops, panels and demos over a 3-day period.

Friday night was kicked off with the "Mother of Pearl" exclusive dinner that featured oysters and bubbly followed by a delectable multi-course sit-down dinner with wine pairings.

Saturday events ran from 9 - 6 p.m. at Morgan's on Fulton and were sponsored by Kellogg's Cereal Bar, Intelligentsia Coffee, Goose Island Beer and Lifeway Kefir. One of the highlights was Kellogg's Cereal Bar Throwdown featuring Chef Jessica Kaslow, of The Squirl in L.A., Pastry Chef Matt Rice of The Publican (Chicago) and Kristina Mack of Broken Tart.

The evening brought guests to Chef April Bloomfield's Pop-Up Gastropub at Virgin Hotels Chicago.

Sunday hosted an All-Star BBQ presented by Lifeway Foods at Palmer Square Park.  Guests enjoyed top-chef cuisine from the likes of Paul Kahan, Sarah Jayne Grueneberg, Abe Conlon, Matthias Merges, Fergus Henderson, and Rick Gresh.

The weekend wrapped up with a closing night Chefs Party back at Morgan's on Fulton.

To find out more about future Taste Talks events go here.

The 2015 Identita Golose brought its celebration to Eataly Chicago October 6th and 7th.  The annual conference pairs seven of Italy's most notable chefs with seven acclaimed American culinary personalities.

Each chef duo hosted an intimate cooking class and dinner to celebrate authentic Italian cooking and ingredients.

Tuesday's events included a masterclass with Heinz Beck, executive chef of La Pergola - the only 3-Michelin-starred restaurant in Rome with Andrew Zimmerman, of Chicago's Sepia; a masterclass with Cristina Bowerman, executive chef of Glass Hostaria in Rome with Giuseppe Tentori of Chicago's GT Fish & Oyster.

The highlight of the night was the four-course dinner at Baffo (Eataly's restaurant) featuring courses from Heinz Beck, Cristina Bowerman, Giuseppe Tentori, and Alex Pilas (Eataly's executive chef) which was hosted by celebrity chef/restaurateur, Lidia Bastianich.

Wednesday, October 7th, guests enjoyed a wine tasting with small bites at Eataly's Scuola featuring pours from over 30 of the most celebrated and historic Italian wines from throughout the peninsula.

To find out more about Identita Golose, visit here.


Photo credits:  Taste Talks photos courtesy of C-Style Magazine
                        Taste Talks cover photo courtesy of Taste Talks
                        Identita Golose photos courtesy of Eataly Chicago