Chicago Gourmet Food And Wine Festival

I’m still on cloud nine…and still full.

This past weekend was any foodie’s biggest dream come true: The Chicago Gourmet Food and Wine Festival in Millennium Park sponsored by Bon Appetit Magazine (the affair is actually dubbed “Culinary Heaven”). This event showcases some of the most renowned chefs and sommeliers in the culinary world and brings them together for a weekend of amazing food, wine tastings, demos, classes and much more.

Trust me, the food and wine were all phenomenal (while a lot of the tastings were meat-based, many of the chefs were willing to make a vegetarian version for me when they could). Rather than bore you with a list of all the things I ate and drank, I want to highlight why attending this awesome event meant so much more to me.

Dessert Sampling At Chicago Gourmet

Chicago Gourmet At Millennium Park

Not only was this was the first time I was able to attend the 7th annual Chicago Gourmet after wanting to go for so long, but I was able to attend the sold-out event as “media” through my blog. My media pass granted me all-access, including the VIP Grand Cru, an additional ticketed event with even more specialty wine tastings and food pairings from James Beard award winning chefs. Pretty damn cool.

But, the absolute best part for me was that I had the opportunity to interview and interact with some of the most famous and well-respected individuals within the industry. It was in these moments that my pure excitement and brimming enthusiasm reminded me of not only how far I have come, but of the unbelievable opportunities I was being presented with. This was when I really needed to be pinched…literally, you could not have wiped that perma-smile from my face.

Here are some highlights from my “chat sessions”:

Selfie With Chef Morimoto

Chef Morimoto- Most popularly known as the “Iron-Chef”, Chef Morimoto has famed restaurants around the world such as Nobu, Morimoto and Wasabi. When I  saw Chef Morimoto, I first approached his publicist to ask to get a picture taken with him before we started talking. Chef Morimoto overheard this request and looked at me and said, “No, selfie! Let’s take a selfie!” Ha ha, I nearly died. I already found myself humbled by such a welcoming, iconic figure. And funny, he was the one who started asking me questions before even I could! He asked me if I was Indian and when I said yes, he told me that he has two restaurants in India, one in Bombay and one in New Delhi (um, who knew that???). I said he must obviously have to cater to vegetarians being in India; he laughed and said yes, but that was not as tough as needing to cater to the gluten-free crowd that has become so ubiquitous lately (soy sauce, as a staple of Japanese cuisine, has gluten in it). We chatted more about vegetarianism and India and he told me how he is inspired by Indian cuisine and really tries to incorporate the flavor profiles in his food. I had no idea and was definitely impressed by this! I was so honored to speak with him and am really excited and curious to check out his restaurants (Wasabi) next time I’m in India. You know I will make that happen!

Chef Carla Hall In The Middle Of Saying Her Famous Line “Hootie Hoo”

Chef Carla Hall- A previous Top Chef contestant and now one of the hosts on the daytime TV show ‘The Chew’ alongside Mario Batali and Clinton Kelly to name a few. Chef Carla is an absolute riot and sweetheart; she has awesome energy and how you see her on TV is exactly how she is in person. When I spoke with her, she really treated me as if we have been friends our entire lives and I thought that was pretty amazing. Currently Chef Carla is running a kickstarter campaign to help fund opening her dream restaurant in NYC based on her favorite food; fried chicken (she did say there won’t be any main dishes for us veggie folk, but plenty of awesome sides). She has also started a line of both sweet and savory cookies that are sold mostly at stores on the east coast, but luckily for us Chicago peeps, are also sold at Eataly. I haven’t had the chance to try them yet, but you know I will! We ended our time chatting with an offer to come be an audience guest on the show ‘The Chew’ in NYC. Um, hello, no-brainer! As if you ever need to twist my arm to come to NYC or be in the audience for a TV show. Thanks Chef Carla!

Hanging With Bon Appetit Editor Adam Rapoport

Adam Rapoport and Andrew Knowlton– Meeting the editors of Bon Appetit Magazine was a pretty unbelievable experience. I was almost more nervous to speak with them than the chefs (maybe because I was secretly hoping they would love me and offer me a job on the spot to write for Bon Appetit??)! I enjoyed my conversations with both Adam and Andrew, even though they were totally different discussions. Adam (the editor-in-chief) said he is not really for being vegetarian, but appreciates when a main protein dish has great seasonal vegetables that are done right. Andrew (restaurant editor) on the other hand, said that he totally supports a vegetarian diet, but does like a steak every now and then. We talked about how Mark Bittman’s new way of eating (eat vegan before 6pm) is really bringing these types of diets to the forefront of the American population as people try to eat healthier and eat less meat. It was interesting and I really appreciated his insight. Adam and Andrew, anytime you are ready for a vegetarian contributor, I am happy to jump on board at Bon Appetit!!

All in all, my first Chicago Gourmet experience was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. While I absolutely can’t wait for Chicago Gourmet 2015, I’m not really sure how it can possibly top my 2014 experience? Guess we will have to wait until next year to see!

Please Note: I was provided a media pass to Chicago Gourmet; all opinions are my own.