We've got an all-star lineup of lovely ladies in our kitchens over the next couple of months. From sustainable food to cookies to butchery, these females are tops in their fields, and we are excited to bring these special classes to you.

The Kitchen Ecosystem is a new way of looking at the food you buy, prepare, and discard. The secret to really tasty food is to make dishes with seasonal ingredients, eat them when they are fresh and preserving some for the off-season.

The Kitchen Ecosystem with Eugenia Bone
Monday, March 9, 6pm-8:30pm
Merchandise Mart

Girl power is DIY butchery, and these ladies are the queens. Chef & Author Kari Underly (top) and Home Food Preserver & Author Cathy Barrow (bottom) will tag team a butchery and sausage-making demonstration, in which you'll learn how to get the most out of a pork shoulder and turn it into three different kinds of sausages.

The Leading Ladies of Butchery with Kari Underly & Cathy Barrow
Saturday, April 18 10am-12:30pm
Merchandise Mart

Mindy Segal, the powerhouse behind HotChocolate and James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef in 2012, celebrates the release of her first cookbook "Cookie Love" with us next month. Packed with more than 60 perfected recipes for every kind of cookie you can think of (and some you haven't), this book is a celebration of the most humble, delicious and wonderful of baked treats.
 
Cookie Love with Mindy Segal
Saturday, April 25 11am-1:30pm
Merchandise Mart

Take a seat at the Lebanese table as Author and Food Blogger Maureen Abood introduces us to more than 100 irresistible recipes in her book "Rose Water and Orange Blossoms." Her blog of the same name won Saveur's best food blog award!

Rose Water and Orange Blossoms with Maureen Abood
Tuesday, April 28, 7pm-9:30pm
Lincoln Square

It's a chilly day in Chicago, but have hope: spring is just around the corner! We're celebrating the arrival of strawberries, ramps, asparagus, radishes and spring peas with new classes and menus.

Our Spring Training class is blossoming with fresh ideas for spring veggies like Crostini with Radishes, Goat Cheese and Pea Shoots.

Spring lamb is here, so indulge in the other red meat such as Mediterranean Roasted Leg of Lamb with Tapenade in Mary Ate a Little Lamb.

Be sure to check out all of these classes that feature new spring menus:

• Pasta Workshop
• Wine & Dine
• Celebrating Julia Child
• Seafood 101, Chicken 101 & Meat 101

Please note that most of these classes are offered at multiple times and locations, so please check our class calendar for the best fit for your schedule.

Just like a good recipe, sometimes a cooking class needs some tweaking. We've been working to improve our Cooking Lab series over the winter. Our chefs have taken our original series and broken it into single interactive demonstration classes that focus on dialogue between the chef and student, creating an enriching experience loaded with information.

Pan-Demonium
Monday, April 20, 6pm-9pm
Merchandise Mart

Flavor Dynamics
Saturday, April 25, 10am-12:30pm
Lincoln Square

More classes are in the works, so stay tuned for more Cooking Lab experiments.

 

Good Food Festival was the first sustainable local food trade show in America 11 years ago. Today, it has exploded to a massive gathering of farmers, food entrepreneurs, food policy stakeholders, sustainable agriculture visionaries and community members dedicated to the production, marketing and distribution of locally grown and responsibly produced food.

Visit our booth on the exhibit floor where Chef Mario Scordato will demonstrate how to use those unusual vegetables you may get in your CSA this year.