Posted Mar 07, 2019
On Tuesday evening, Angelic Organics Learning Center and Green City Market hosted the second dinner in our three part series Come to the Table Dinner Series at Arbor Restaurant. The evening featured a panel discussion with Chefs Leonard Hollander of Arbor, Beverly Kim of Parachute, Keith Potter of Cindy’s, and Cam Waron of Honey Butter Fried Chicken. The topic for the evening was restaurant sourcing in the Midwest.
Each of these chefs have made sourcing locally an integral part of their menu. They acknowledged the challenges of doing so with shorter midwestern summers. Each chef talked about how the shorter growing season in Chicago has really spurred their creativity and ingenuity. When things are in season, they buy as much as possible and highlight in their menus. They will often preserve some of that incredible produce through cooking techniques such as pickling or jamming. These techniques help add spark to their menus during the longer winter months and highlight the wonderful veggies that are the stars of winter cooking.
These chefs are directly supporting local farmers by making local the norm on their menus. When farmers have consistent support, whether it is a loyal farmers market shopper or a chef who prioritizes sourcing directly from farmers, it gives them a chance to succeed!
This dinner was generously sponsored by WBEZ 91.5 Chicago, Sitka Salmon Shares, Gotham Greens, Candid Wines, and Hopewell Brewing Co.