Culinary Historians of Chicago

Presented by Coeditors Carol Haddix and Colleen Sen, and contributors Judy Hevrdejs and Scott Warner Everyone knows that Chicago is the world’s greatest food city – and we now have a book that tells you why: The Chicago Food Encyclopedia. Edited by Carol Mighton Haddix, Bruce Kraig and Colleen Taylor Sen, this 300- page volume is a free-ranging portrait of a culinary paradise, with nearly 300 entr...

Presented by Nancie McDermott, Cookbook Author, Cooking Teacher, and confirmed Southern Belle According to acclaimed cookbook author Nancie McDermott, there are a dozen iconic fruits which hold an historic and enduring place on the Southern table. A Southerner herself, Nancie is in Chicago to spread the gospel of these beloved fruits and share the delicious rituals that surround them so that we No...

Presented by Justin Diglia, Executive Chef Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, Chicago It’s probably safe to say that all of us who attend the Culinary Historians of Chicago programs are ardent foodies. We enjoy discussing food and how it connects us to culture and to life itself. And we enjoy the magic that Chicago’s chefs put on our plates. Yet how many of us really know what motivates a pe...

Michael Gebert, Editor The world of Chicago food media is rapidly changing. Michael Gebert is a Chicago based writer who has found new opportunities to tell stories of Chicago's rich culture. He'll talk about the changing media landscape, how to find opportunities to share your voice within it, and the role of lists and guidebooks, from Michelin to his own, in helping people discover what their lo...

Please join us for a rice tell-all with one of Chicago’s most eminent chefs, John Coletta, and writer/photographer Monica Kass Rogers, who collaborated to write the just-published cookbook "Risotto and Beyond." Here’s what’s on our menu for you: You’ll get a generous slice of Italian rice history—including stories of a smuggling Jesuit priest, the Sforzas, lords of Milan who used advice from Leona...

Presented by Sarah Peters Kernan, PhD The early centuries of cookbook production in England were filled with a dazzling variety of manuscript and printed texts. “Cookeries” from 1300 to 1700 ranged from basic, undecorated texts to lavishly illustrated cookbooks. In her extensive research, Sarah Peters Kernan, PhD, has examined numerous manuscripts and printed cookeries in libraries across the Unit...

Presented by Chef Christopher Koetke Vice President, Strategy and Industry Relations, Kendall College For the last 5 years, Chef Koetke has been criss-crossing the globe, visiting 20-25 countries annually. In 12 of these countries, he set up culinary programs or worked with local culinary schools. Additionally, he works on sustainability issues as the Feed the Planet Chairman for World Chefs were...

Drawing on the observations of three years spent in the company of dedicated amateur mushroomers and professional mycologists. Gary Alan Fine explores the ways in which Americans attempt to give meaning to the natural world, while providing an eye-opening look inside the cultures they construct around its study and appreciation. This will be an interview-discussion with Gary Alan Fine, whose book...