Chicago Gourmet Day 2

Sleeping in past 4:30- this has potential to be a much better day.  Don't have to be on site until 10 today- which after a successful Saturday night can still be a struggle.  The good thing about this shift is that I already know all the event operations- the new crew doesn't.  I'm immediately pointed out to the newbies as a 'go-to person' in the event of hydration crisis.  Life is good.

Thankfully, unlike the day before, there is cloud cover and the temperature is much cooler, meaning lower demand for ice and other fine dihydrogen monoxide products.  In this scenario I'm able to hang out behind the tents and make friends with the chefs preparing tastings for their winery clients.  This gave me access to a huge supply of some fine canapes- the best being a toast point with goat cheese, toasted prosciutto chip and fig compote.  The chef's also turned their heads the other way when some prosciutto went missing from their miz.  Here's some advice on making friends- don't ever call them caterers.  It turns out that is one of the most insulting things to be said, because in this case, they were actually chefs hired from the 'very tall building' room.  

Shift ended and first thing I had to do was secure Klaus' signature for a gift.  He told me I was a great 'family member' for doing so.  I grabbed some Millennium Soda [again] and crab salad tasting from Custom House on my way to the demo stage.  I caught the second half of Gale Gand (Cenitare/Tru) and Art Smith (Table Fifty-Two) showing their New Takes on American Cuisine.  Then like fools, the audience cleared out for Kendal Duque (Sepia) and Arun Sampanthavivat (Arun's Thai Restaurant).  These are chef's of two very fine restaurants in Chicago and they were going to go over salad- one of the most difficult and thought-provoking dishes out there.  Arun prepared an excellent [scratch] won ton salad with chili dressing while Kendal made a watermelon fennel salad with yogurt-goat cheese dressing.  There are only a few weeks left in the year to eat good watermelon so we better enjoy it. 

I took a quick break from demos before returning for Stephanie and [season 3] Dale from Bravo's Top Chef cook-off.  It was at this time I had the most kick-in-the-nuts tasting of the weekend, courtesy of Peninsula Hotel Chicago- chocolate ice cream with [insanely] hot peppered bacon.  I love spicy food.  It's like a bad woman- even though you're in pain you keep going back for more.  I've completed many wing challenges, chili challenges, and always ensure my food is painfully spicy at Thai restaurants.  This bacon put me in tears.  My knees buckled and I lost balance- the world spun around me.  Then the sweet cold chocolate rushed through my palate- performing the much needed first aid.  Then I opened my eyes- it was over.  Thankfully raspberry mojitos were also provided at the tent to help put out any remaining fires.

I ventured back to the demo stage, picking up another half pound of prosciutto from a buffet style tasting, to see Steph and Dale's cook-off.  The day before they bought a grocery bag of mystery ingredients to give the other chef- all of which had to be used in a single cohesive dish prepared in '25' minutes.  They claim to be friends but gifting a bag full of chocolate, shrimp, bacon, and mushrooms and another full of candied ginger, pork chops, and root veggies are not acts of kindness.  They both made [presumably] good tasting dishes and declared the challenge a tie.  Kudos on the system D, especially Steph who in the last minute of battle butterflied her pork chop so it'd be fully cooked- something she'd never do in a restaurant.

I still have tons more notes on the weekend.  If there's enough interest I'll throw together a third entry.