Locavore Dinner and film screening at The Gage

I'm excited to announce that The Gage in Chicago's Loop will host the next Local Food Wisdom Locavore Dinner. This fête will feature both food and film, as I'll present an encore screening of the new documentary Ingredients during our meal in the restaurant's Theodore Ascher Room. Our 4-course feast of local foods has been designed by Chef Dirk Flanigan, a semi-finalist for Best Chef Great Lakes Region (IL, IN, MI and OH) in the 2011 James Beard Awards.

Here are the event details and menu:

When: Sunday, 27 March, beginning at 6 PM
Where: 24 S Michigan Ave | Map | Parking
Cost: $75 per person (all-inclusive)
Reservations: Call The Gage (312.372.4243)
Previews: Chicago Bites | Chicagoist

One: Onion Soup, Smoked Pork, Moonglo and Madeira Gelee

Two: Salad of Potato, Beet and Kale, Banyuls vinaigrette

Three: Bison and Lake Superior Whitefish, Black Radish, Cippolini, Aigre-Doux

Four: Maty Knives' House Cheese with Honey Nougat, Hazelnuts, Local Preserves

Featured producers include:

• Cook's Bison Ranch | Wolcottville, IN
• Nichols Farm | Marengo, IL
• Swan Creek Heirloom Farm | North Adams, MI
• Seedling Orchard | South Haven, MI

Dinner will be served during the screening (~70 min). Ingredients documents several examples of farmer-chef collaborations, presented in four seasonal segments: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Each course of our meal will be introduced and served during a brief transition between the segments. Following the film, we'll present an informal Q&A with our special guests Jason Moore (Cook's Bison Ranch), George Rasmussen (Swan Creek Heirloom Farm) and Chef Michael Sheerin (x-Blackbird and soon to open his own restaurant, The Trencherman), who will share their perspectives on producing, sourcing and preparing local foods. Attendees will have an opportunity to purchase an advance, discounted copy of the Ingredients DVD, which will be commercially released on March 29th. To learn more about the film, read this Huffington Post interview with producer and cinematographer Brian Kimmel.


Reviews: Examiner.com | The Cleveland Independent | The Oklahoman | Sustainable Greenville

We encourage you to use the CTA to travel to The Gage. If you must drive, there are there are two parking options. Valet parking is available at The University Club, located at 76 E Monroe Street (north side, one half-block east of Michigan Ave). Look for the green awning and the valet sign for the University Club. If you use the University Club valet ($20 per car), inform the valet that you are dining at The Gage and then pay for valet at the restaurant. Alternatively, self-parking is available underground in the Grant Park North Garage.

About Locavore Dinners
Launched in Chicago in 2010 by food scientist Jim Javenkoski, this monthly series of culinary events represents the convergence of locally-grown food and ol' school social learning. The dinners offer opportunities for consumers, chefs and farmers to gather and share delicious meals over casual yet informative conversations about the provenance and production of our food. Ideally, that dialog will reveal to each participant how we can collectively strengthen our local food system to provide economic, environmental, safety, wellness and justice benefits for all of us. The enduring goal of the Locavore Dinners is to enhance our food literacy and cultivate our "local food wisdom", one meal at a time.