This was amazing! I ate and ate and drank and drank! Tips: Gates open at 12 but you should plan to get there at at least 11:15! Buy a wine necklace on Amazon to hold your wine so you'll have a free hand to grab food. Pace yourself! Eat before drinking! There is so much alcohol here, you're sure to get drunk if you don't eat! The bathrooms are not port a potties but! Soap is low so you might want to bring sanitizer. Off spray or a spray to repel bees (if there is such a thing) would also be a plus. There is so much food! My favorites included the barbecue area, a lovely Brussel sprouts salad, shrimp and grits and the Mariano's tent! The Japanese tent was fun with plenty of freebies. If it's a rainy day next year dress accordingly! I'm so glad I wore rain boots to the event, the grass was super muddy! read more

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Sampling a plethora of top-tier local offerings is something anyone can appreciate, and that is what one gets from Chicago Gourmet. There is no better way to evaluate what some of the city's biggest gourmet innovators are up to! read more

Chicago Gourmet - Yum! - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I personally am not sure how this event could have been better! I'm just shocked that this is only a 3 stars especially when this was a 1,000 times better than Taste of Chicago. I had a blast and will definitely come back again next year. They even let us in about 15 mins early. When I walked in for my first time, I started making the Tina Belcher from Bob's Burgers moaning noises because I was pleasantly overwhelmed by all of the options and didn't know where to start. I opened up my gift bag and saw the plastic plate with wine glass holder and headed for the BBQ and bourbon tent. Within 5 mins my bag was nearly full from all of the glassware and other free stuff they give you. Everyone tells you to pace yourself but it's so true. You'll instinctively feel like you NEED to rush and get somewhere quick because you're surrounded by hundreds of people. But I promise you it's not that serious. You will get to try everything if you plan on staying the whole time. Yes, the tickets are expensive but it's definitely worth the price tag if you're into food. And I mean really into food. Because once you're in, everything is included (food AND drinks) and there is no shortage of anything. I was able to try everything from thin truffle slices to Alaskan king crab rolls, to delicious wagyu beef. Every single person in the event, including the volunteers, chefs and random employees could not have been nicer and more generous. I saw chefs and workers do everything in their power to make us guests feel welcome. Yeah, the lines were long, but I'm talking maybe 20 mins for some of the more popular pavilions, like the seafood one, but for the most part it was less than 10 mins for the other tents. You'll be thankful for the lines because it gives you a chance to digest the food. The food was amazing and the portions were perfect. Also, there are wine and liquor vendors EVERYWHERE. i'm not joking folks. There is no possible way to try even half of all of the different beverages. I made the choice of not trying any of the wines because they tend to make me thirsty, which will make me drink more water, which will then make me full. And I would much rather eat than drink my calories. But all of the cocktails and mini shots of liquors I did try were amazing. You'll have your own strategy when you go. I heard people complaining about the dumbest things like the drinks they served weren't a full glass. It's really simple, either grab two drinks the first time or come back around again when you want more. Don't be that food snob who feels entitled to everything and just enjoy this awesome event. Seriously, I'm so coming back next year! *More Tina Belcher moaning noises* read more

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This was my first time at Chicago Gourmet and it was such a fun experience! I noticed many local wineries, consumer produce brands, and top local restaurants. Large variety of different tent/pop up restaurants at Millenium park with very good music and atmosphere. There is a map of the whole event displaying which tent was what, and you could navigate it very easily. Celebrity chef demos and seminars on the main stage! Upon entrance, you're given a little goodie bag of pamphlets, magnets, clips etc.. They also give you a clear tray and a wine glass that is held by the tray. You just go around each tent trying each food or drink. The lines may seem long but they go by very fast, I didn't have to wait more than 5 minutes for even the longest line I saw. Shoutout to Arbella and their head chef Mario Vidal. Best thing I've tasted that day and he was very friendly, smiling at each person. Patron's Jalisco Mule and Tequila infused popsicle was also very delicious and the Truffle Risotto (I forgot which restaurant it was from). Turano was even giving out whole loaves of bread lol!! Overall a very good and positive experience, but it is very pricey for a ticket (almost $200)! read more

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This was my first time at Chicago Gourmet. The $150 price tag is pretty steep and from feedback I received from friends, the price is only justified if you consume massive quantities of alcohol. I found a better option while having dinner at The Bristol where you can participate in the Dine Around Chicago option and basically spend $35 at 5 participating restaurants and get in for free. Seemed like a much better way to go! First off, regarding the booze....yes, yes, and yes. There are more wine vendors at this event than I've ever seen. Even the non-Grand Cru section had some top notch producers like Silver Oak (tasting the Alexander Valley 2008 Cabernet), Justin (tasting two whites and the 2006 Cabernet), and Joseph Phelps (2009 Napa Valley Cabernet), plus many more notable producers. Seriously, there were two giant rows full of wineries and quality ones at that. If you knew where to look, you could find some superb wines to taste. The food was hit or miss. There were some shockingly good tasting portions. My favorite being Chef Giuseppe Tentori from Boka who did a cured salmon demo with capers and dill paste that was out of this world - beautiful presentation too. The IPO tent serving the pork belly was so decadent and flavorful...loved every bite. Gibsons went way overboard and did both a petit filet slider and cheese burger, no wonder the line was the longest of the entire event. Rick Bayless was also there doing a demo and signing books. The Frontera tent was also serving up some goodness including a guacamole topped with bacon and roasted red peppers (you could choose two toppings), and shrimp tacos with tomatillo sauce. We also got a chance to chat with Rick a bit and get one of his books signed in the south pavilion. We also caught a demo by Chef Bruce Sherman who did a crusted whitefish and celery and squash salad, which was very entertaining. He has a very sarcastic tone, which we found to be hilarious. Finally, I loved how the Stella tent was serving full glasses of Stella, Hooegaarden, or Leffe in authentic Belgian glasses. Plus there was almost no line for the first hour and a half (I guess people hadn't discovered it yet). The beer was fantastic and you could even keep the glass. Overall we really enjoyed the event. Weather was perfect, lines were more or less manageable, and food although it was made for mass service was of much higher quality than I would have expected for such a big event. Thumbs up to the promoters and I hope next year is just as good. read more

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I'd compare Chicago Gourmet to the Taste of Chicago except that it is so much more. The Taste is like a feisty five year old and Chicago Gourmet is that child all grown up, college educated and settled into a career. Many foodie restaurants participate and offer bites of delicious foods. Think the Monteverde, Girl and the Goat, Pump Room, Two, Belly Q, and many more. Then, there are also many wine, beer and spirits vendors giving pours and cocktails. Lastly, there are seminars that teach all kinds of things: how to take pictures of food in restaurants, how to make a certain dish, how to taste wine, etc. The best part is that once you're in you can eat and drink as much as you like. You don't buy coupons or food tickets or anything. If you love the shrimp ceviche from Tanta then you can go back again and again. The lines move quickly. All of that can get very tiring so there are shaded tents and nice benches to sit and relax. Getting completely drunk is another big issue so they have bottled water all over the place to stay properly hydrated. read more

It was a great event with lots of famous restaurants showing off their culinary cuisines. We enjoyed seafood tent and bbq tent the most. Lots of fun seminars and celebrities show case main stage. read more

This is, hands down, the best outdoor festival I've ever attended in Chicago! Every year, Chicago and Food and Wine magazine host a tasting festival to showcase the best, brightest and up-and-coming restaurants, distilleries, wineries and breweries in town. I was lucky enough to score a couple of free tickets to this event because I am friends with the Joly family. Master Belgian chef Daniel Joly is a spokesperson for Stella Artois and the art of beer pairings with fine dining. Tickets for this event go from $150 to $190 per person per day. How could I say no? The event takes place Friday evening and Saturday-Sunday noon to six. The entire lawn of the Pritzker Pavilion in Millenium Park is outfitted with peaked white tents featuring an amazing assortment of gastronomic delicacies. There is no way to describe the breadth and variety of food and drink to sample at this place! There were 8 specialty chef showcase tents, each of which featured 3-5 local restaurants offering tastings. Each of these tents had two shifts from noon-3 and 3-6. That means from these places alone there were about 75 different dishes to sample. Word to the wise was don't overdo it. There was a barbecue tent, a lobster and seafood tent, and scores of others. Many tents just featured the offerings of one restaurant, all in taste portions. Coupled with the wine, beer, champagne and liquor (all unlimited and included in the cost) it was nothing short of amazing! The lines at the 8 featured tents could be a little long, since they estimated 10,000 guests on Saturday and Sunday. However, we never waited more than 15 minutes for any of them, so it gave me a chance to digest! Many of the places offered coupons and discounts for visiting their restaurant, so you can even score afterward. There were also so many places which were giving out glasses, I came home with a cabinet full of new barware. Some people go both days because the restaurants change on Sunday. I couldn't ever go back after one day of culinary bliss. I felt very wasteful because there was so much to try, even the tasting portions were often too much. I can also knock back a few, but the festival was sick with booze. A number of people came just to get their drink on. On the main stage, they had demonstrations with Morimoto, Stephanie Izzard, Rick Bayless, the Melman and the BoKa owners. I'd do this again in a heartbeat. It's an indulgence, but one you'll never forget. We met many very nice people, all buzzed with food and drink from the abbondanza. What an incredible day! I just hope I can score free tickets next year. read more

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Mighty expensive meal ticket, but I can assure you if you plan it right, it is worth it, Everything described below is covered with the power of a wristband. Tips: Get the app and plan ahead. Also, get there early so you are scanned in before doors open. Quick summary of the event: Goodie bag, a glass for you to drink out and a plastic plate to hold your food. Regular ticket gives access to: 7 Tasting tents, 1 dessert tent. Each tent houses 3-4 restaurants. Halfway through, there is a switchout. Quick math averages to about 42-56 places and some offer 2-3 different bites (that's 168 pieces of food!!!). These are the BEST places to eat. -Looong wait. Individual food booths are scattered amongst the center. -Short to no wait. Some of the bigger places such as Rockit Ranch and a few steakhouses will have their individual booth. -Moderate wait. Couple of big brands like Barilla, Chipotle, Target were there. Booze is everywhere! This is where you have to be selective and play your cards right If not, prepared to get wasted quick. I tried to be good about not sampling too much, but after waiting awhile, those tequila cocktails, wine, beer and scotch booths staring at me took the best of me. International tent offers a covered vibe. Entertainment of music and dance was constant. That's where most of the beer taps were set up. Bottled water stations are placed throughout the park. 1 Cafe booth - for coffee, espresso, latte, cappuccino located in the back for some quiet contemplation. Live cooking demos, photography, learning sessions, wine tastings, celebrity chefs, book signing filled in the gaps if you wanted to take a break from all that eating and drinking. Grand Cru is extra $ if you want a slightly more quieter area with MORE access to gourmet food and wines. The additional $20 is not terrible since tix to this event are already expensive and you will be consuming super premium goods, but because of the amount of time, you have to figure how to it squeeze it all in. I would consider it next time just to check it out and experience the good life. Washroom situation was a non-issue. Millenium Park has toilets located on the North and South Side ends. No porta-potties. YAY. Lastly, take a look around to see what people are eating. I wasn't shy when I saw something good, I asked people where they got it. Cannot wait for CG next year!!!!!! read more

Looks like the event planners have been reading our reviews over the years and have made improvements. I did not wait in a line this year to get in. I arrived six minutes after opening. In years past it could take 30 mins just to get in. I liked the goodie bag with maps, coupons and a real souvenir wine glass to use. The food lines were longer than I remembered. But they seemed to move quickly 15 to 20 mins for the big food stations that had multiple offerings from 3-4 restaurants at one time. As food goes....some good, some not so good, but nothing out right bad. Lots of booze and wine. Tequila seemed to be everywhere. I know they are limited to the sponsor vendors. Everything this year came out of the southern wine & spirits catalog. So no Independent winery participants. The Grand Cru presentation was very nice on the roof top. Though in my opinion there has been much better wine in years past. Most of the wines presented are readily available at the wine store. I preferred past years Grand Cru that presented library wines from wineries and rare selections that had once been shown by master Somms. I will not pay the additional $225 again to do this as I feel it has diminished in stature. Though it was beautifully presented this year both visually and comfortably. read more

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Best, most expensive, and gluttonous food event I've been to and one that I'd go to again and again every year. The festivities for Chicago Gourmet starts Friday but the main event is on Saturday and Sunday when a collection of restaurants from Chicago serve samples of one dish to participants. Typically the restaurants serve food in 2 hour blocks and then spend 30 minutes switching over to the next restaurant. It becomes a restaurant roulette of sorts where you wait in line to try foods for 3/4 restaurants at a time. In addition to these food tents, there are an abundance of drinking tents. Many people I've met have come here to drink more than eat - to each their own I say. When you've had your fill of drinks and food, head over to one of the seminar tents or demonstration tents to enhance your culinary education as you digest all the delicious foods and drinks. Then repeat eat, drink, and be merry. Overall, this event is a hit and sells out every year. I've managed to score a free ticket to this event by volunteering for an 8 hour shift sometime during the weekend for a free ticket to either Saturday or Sunday. I have met some great people volunteering through this event and would encourage those foodies out there to follow in my footsteps and volunteer for an unforgettable experience or just cave in and buy a $185 ticket to attend one of the days! Taste of Chicago has nothing on this event. Chicago Gourmet all day every day. read more

We attended Chicago Gourmet for the first time this year and we had great anticipation of a fabulous experience I'll break down the good first. Shorter paragraph. The wine selections were extensive and most were excellent. Most of the food was between good and excellent. Never had a bite that I would call poor. Once inside the lines moved well and the vendors were helpful and seemed to enjoy the crowd. Now the bad. A ridiculous line stretched around the park and after standing for at least a half an hour with little movement someone pointed out that there were two entrances. That line was non-existent since no one standing in the "Bataan death march" new it was available. Very poor organization with little information being decimated to people who spent 175 to enjoy a foodie day. The live cooking demos were abysmal Sara Moulton and Gail Ganns were entertaining but all the others lacked energy. Lynne Brahmer's attempt at emcee was over acted and ridiculous I had high hopes for the Top 50 restaurant panel but apparently microphones are extremely expensive so you could only really hear the moderator and all the rest of the panel was muffled and unintelligible. Sad. Virtually everyone we sat with or talked to was taken aback by how few places to sit there were. People milled around the few tables there were hoping to catch someone leaving. Really bad planning I will not return next year. For 175 person I expected a first class experience and received a bleacher seat. Too bad FYI. There was an upgrade for a ridiculous 200 more for a private wine tasting. Did not pay for that but saw the room they had it in. Hardly first class and I would have been ballistic if I had paid for that segment. Summing up. .... Wine....food. ....pretty good. Organization, demos and overall experience ...forgettable. Really too bad I had such high hopes read more

Absolutely incredible. If you enjoy food and drink, then you HAVE to check out Chicago Gourmet! Tickets are expensive (~$110 for Sunday) but worth it. Right at the check in gate, you receive a tote bag loaded with goodies as well as a plate and wine glass (you keep these). You use these throughout your time here to sample everything that is offered. Millenium Park is loaded with an insane number of tents and you know what the best part is? You can go to EVERY tent and sample EVERY item of food and/or drink on display! For example, lets just say that there are 20 tents serving wine and each tent has 5 bottles each. You can literally sample 100 different wines if you were truly that dedicated! Not a wine drinker? Then mozy on over the the whiskey, vodka, and/or cordial area. Not a fan of liquor either? The beer tent should solve all of your problems then. Here you will be served a matching beer and glass (think Stella Artois in the Stella Artois goblet). Guess what? You keep the glass too! Drinks aren't the only option. Food variety ranges from sandwiches to Hispanic cuisine to cuts of meat from Texas de Brazil + more. I spent ~4 hours here on a Sunday and walked away with two glasses, cocktail recipe cards, coupons, a t-shirt, ate food from 3 gourmet restaurants in Chicago, sampled many wines and sake I've never heard of or tried before, drank some brand new liquors that just hit the market, about ~50 other awesome things, AND had a blast to top things off. BIGGEST piece of advice: pace yourself! Sample sizes are small but, depending on who you are, you could quite possibly be sampling somewhere between 10-30 things. If you get your moneys worth, you will be drunk. Definitely plan appropriate transportation beforehand so you can get home safely. read more

Well I made it back for 2011. Round 2. I surprised myself and purchased tickets back in May as something to look forward to. It's clear this event not only seeks out feedback but changes the event each year to make it better. I give them credit for listening to their customers. The upside? More tents serving food. I believe last year had 4, maybe 5 tents tops, serving food resulting in long lines. And I mean long lines. Hour wait lines. This year they stretched that to 9 or so tents with additional restaurants serving food out of their own tent. This kept the lines down considerably and made the event much more enjoyable. The downside? Beer...again. They moved the stella tent to a far off corner of the event resulting in beer lovers having to trek their way just to get some reasonable suds. The same offers were available this year as last with Stella, Leffe, and Hoegaarden available in addition to Blue Moon tasters. I came home with 4 Hoegaarden and 5 Leffe glasses. Beer drinking in my house will now be twice as fun. It's also worth pointing out that the food was once again average. You won't get any mind blowing dishes here and much of what's served are burgers, bbq, or steak sandwiched between a small bun. Boring, not original and filling in your stomach. But the lines for these slider type snacks was insane. Bottom line, if you like events then this is your thing. If you're only in it for the food, I'd suggest you skip this as I overheard a few complaining about portion sizes. Another B for a rating and we'll see if I make it out next year for my third straight. A nice event for the early admission price and I'm happy to see improvements each year. read more

A well run event where some of the best, but overlooked parts, may be the chef demos. Some in attendance this year were Rick Bayless, Morimoto, Abe Conlon of Fat Rice, Mindy of Hot Chocolate, Takashi of Slurping Turtle, Graham Elliot, and Bill Kim of Urban Belly. But with the seemingly endless tents of food and drinks, most people spend their time in lines trying to sample everything and don't bother with the demos. And they often don't realize the chefs are actually there serving things up to you and you get to talk to them. The weekend was absolutely georgeous, so it was great to spend the day outside eating and watching demos. Tickets $are 150+, so it's really marketed towards foodies (a term I dislike, but using it here for simplicity) since they're the only ones who'd drop almost 2 bucks for food. You get to sample a LOT of food and it's actually impossible to eat everything. There were 10 food tents and each tent had 2 servings (e.g., 12:30-2:30 and 3-5pm) with 3-4 restuarants during each time slot. That's 60-80 bites of food and these are not small bites. Then there's a boatload of other tents sponsored by restaurants or alcohol companies with many more bites, so now you're looking at 100 different food samples plus lots of drinks. Food doesn't run out, so no need to rush around trying to stuff yourself. You need to decide which ones you really want to try and which you can skip. It's ok to take a bite and not finish (or bring containers to take it home). Now, if you're expecting amazing food, just know that's not what you're going to get. The food is prepared in advance and then quickly plated to serve hundreds of people, so it's not nearly the same as what you'd get at the restaurant. It'll be good, but a lot of the samples weren't really that memorable. If you want to attend, get tickets early since there's a discount. There's also a discount for Amex holders. Try to volunteer as you'll get a free ticket for the day you don't volunteer. read more

The only reason I am giving this 2 stars is because the seminars were good. The food is a CHALLENGE to get. The lines to the tasting pavilions were all about 70+ deep at least. And then, when you got to the front, you were given about 3-5 plates of food (tasting size), but who wants five plates at once?? Plus, because there was a long line still BEHIND you, you did not get a chance to talk to the chefs...."move along"..Save your money and splurge for Aspen Food and Wine festival. SOOOOOO much better! Too many people and not well organized or thought out. read more

Good food, great selection of wine in 2010. A grey goose booth (more of a white lounge-tent with white seats) with this awesome raspberry puree. Oddly, there was a giant line for beer. Who spends so much for beer? FAIL! More alcohol for the rest of us. Winnning! read more

2011- Second time is a charm! I enjoyed 2010 and didn't have a problem with it. However 2011 was improved in terms of the layout and crowd size. I think the circle worked much better as a way to keep wandering around sampling food. I also liked that some of the restaurants were not in the tasting pavilions and had their own booths. I was able to sample more restaurants this way, with little to short lines and the food was just as good as what was in the pavilions. I am happy they moved the Stella tent away from the main area, I did trek there 2x for beer and it was a better place to hold those long lines. I only made it to one cooking demo because it is very easy to lose track of time and place, a whirlwind of food and wine and cocktails kept me on the lawn for most of the day. I can't wait for 2012. I also think I'm going to try to get tickets for the Hamburger Hop on the Friday night before. It seems like a great way to kick off this food weekend. read more

This was my second experience at Chicago Gourmet, and thought I would go ahead and review it. My first warning is the ticket price is steep. This year there were a lot more vendors, and to me seemed like a lot more people. They lay walking paths down between the booths and tents so women can wear heals without sinking. A tip for someone going to this next year: I was appropriately dressed this year...but last year I didn't realize you were supposed to dress up for this. Last year I was in a sundress and flip flops and felt out of place. This year I went dressier and felt like I blended much better. (dressy jeans, heals and a nice top). This year there was too much booze, and the lines were too long for the food. They added some smaller business vendors in a big tent off to the side. (50 extra) and I think this was a great touch. They need to make food more accessible to people if they are going to serve SO MUCH free straight alcohol. I prepared this year by hitting a bunch of food vendors before drinking....but it is hard to do! There are no lines at the liquor vendors and 20-40 min lines at the good food vendors. My favorite desert I ate was the pumpkin bread pudding from Francessca's. Food...there is too much of tie between like 6 items so I will spare you. The best new booze I found? Van Gough Double Espresso Vodka. Next year I hope they get more food vendors...or staff the vendors more efficiently so the food can be served in a quicker fashion. The set up now leads to lots of weebely-wobbley gourmet attendees. read more

I thought the food choices are definitely bad!! Although they all tasted OK, but the ingredients that each restaurant used were just basic and the cheapest ingredients that they could find. One booth was passing out chips and salsa, not sure how it got categorized as gourmet. The most ridiculous pavilion was the Lobster and Seafood one, not only they didn't serve lobster, there's not even seafood in another of the tasting dishes!! There were a lot of alcohol booths which was nice. I particularly enjoyed the beer booth where you got to take the beer glasses. But I don't think there was enough beer options. I only saw three kinds of beer. Overall, I think this event should be called Chicago Alcohol instead of Chicago Gourmet because you weren't able to find any gourmet food there but tons of alcohol options. Lastly, this thing definitely doesn't worth $150 per person. Never again!!! For approx. $30, the Binny wine tasting event offered same amount of alcohol if not more and much BETTER food options. They serve you real seafood without promoting it! read more

Where was the food!? We must have gone at the wrong time because people seemed to like this event. We tried at 12:30 and the line was almost to Michigan Ave, so we ran some errands and came back at 2:30. It was a cinch to get in using our receipts. After coming through the entrance all you see are alcohol booths. I thought that the wine was separate from the food since you can buy more expensive tickets for a private wine area. Anyways, we tried some wine and cocktails while looking for food- that was fun! There were no lines for drinks, but the food lines were atrociously long! And there were only a tiny handful of tents serving food which explained the loooong lines. If I remember correctly only 6-10 tents were serving food while there seemed to be a billion drink booths and tents. It really became a game of find the food. I'm so glad we didn't pay for the tickets. It's crazy that this event would serve so much alcohol. but not just as easily provide food especially when the food was so talked up in the press. The other reviewer pointed out that the tents change over at 3pm and the vendors run out of food early. So don't go when we did if you want to eat. Also, the ground was very damp, so if you wear heels they will sink a little in the grassy areas. read more

I TOO HAD TO GO TO DINNER AFTERWARDS...BECAUSE I WAS STARVING....AND DRUNK! There was not enough food...or if there was, the operation was so unorganized that when I saw the cheese at the wine booth...I was elated! I can't blame the restaurants because my hunch is that the organizer (e.g. the planners) didn't debrief the restaurants on timing, queuing, support or help with expediting. I did the "dine around" thing with receipts and gave a ton of business to local restaurants leading up to this event. I should have saved my time, money and not gained an extra 5 lbs of weight! Granted, I enjoyed all the meals and am happy to help my local restaurants but the event itself was such a disappointment. And don't get me started on the Groupon...someone made a ton of money on this event but who? Way too crowded. The only GOOD THINGS I can say about this event is 1) the crowd was classy (until the end when people started stealing things) 2) the bathrooms 3) the free water 4) decent wine and 5) the company of my friends & family, and the 6) free glassware from the Stella tent! IF ANYONE WHO CARES IS READING THIS....SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT: 1) have volunteers that can help expedite in the food lines and keep the drunk people moving through -- give them a discounted ticket (the volunteers, not the drunks) 2) spread out the food booths and somehow allow for double sided queues to make it faster. 3) allow people to grab more than one restaurant's dish once you get to the front of the line because that would shrink the number of lines...people just eat one thing and then get in the next line (did anyone notice that no one was actually sitting for very long?) 4) improve the portion size and insist the restaurants make things that don't have complicated components that slow everything else down 5) put the name of the restaurant and the food being served up high on the tent so it helps people find what they want. read more

The food selection was from all the best restaurants in the city. it was terrific being able to hop around to each one. The best booth for me was Gibson's not because they had great food but because they went above and beyond what they had to. they Offered 3 items instead of one dish and the set up was top notch. Silver Oak ran out of wine early which was a disappointment since I had done the whites first and was circling back for reds (you only get one glass to taste so no saving for later folks) If I could mention one more negative it would be the set up. the food selections weren't paired with their wine neighbors and the flow of the booths just didn't mingle well. Maybe I should help on next years CG?...Hmmm food for thought. read more

This is one of my favorite events in Chicago. Chicago is known for its food scene with amazing food at all price levels. There are so much food and drinks to try at the festival, and each tent is decorated with flowers and gorgeous decor. A perfect weekend, with a lot of heavy hitters giving lectures and food demonstrations and a grand Cru with topnotch wine. read more

Chicago Gourmet - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

this was my third time attending chicago gourmet. I try to go to as many wine tastings/gourmet food things as possible, and i honestly feel this is one of the only ones worth the money you pay. my mom and i plan ahead and get the discounted tickets. at some point i really want to go for both day, because there are a lot of chef demonstrations that i don't make it too. i too, end up drunk at the end of the day, but i mean its a 5 hour booze fest. and no i don't get as much food as i need to compete with the alcohol, but i get plenty of neat treats & tastes. plus this year i got a stella glass which was so fantastic! also seeing the 'famous chefs' as well as the local chefs who i really like is always a blast. and yes some of the lines get long. but its an event with alot of people. i like it and i will continue to go with it and make a weekend out of it. read more

The other reviewers weren't kidding, man this festival was sick with booze. Everywhere you turned it was booze, booze, booze. You get a wine glass on the way in and then you go from tent to tent trying all sorts of wine and spirits. Some folks had large beer glasses full of brew, but I never did figure where they got them. It was really cool except that after awhile, you don't even know what you're trying anymore. It must be tough for vendors to get people hooked when there's so many different samples: one after another after another. I was looking for French wine but it was mostly wine from California. I did find a few Italian wines and I even stumbled upon a Chianti Classico which I really dig, except this one was jut ok. As for the food there were two winners: Inovasi's Chilled, spiced tomato soup with fall herbs topped with goat's milk ice cream. (Out of freakin' sight!) And IPO's roasted pork belly in a Buerre Blanc with raspberries and...I'm not joking...topped with crumbled ciccarone. (Also Out of freakin' sight). A helpful food pilgrim I met told me I needed to try The Pavilion's dumpling, but when I got there I they were all out of them. They were serving a pureed mushroom soup which was delicious on the first layer, but when I got to the squash puree layerd beneath the change in flavor harshed the mushroom buzz. That brings me to a sort of disturbing trend I noticed at this event. There were a lot of tiny plastic tureens layered with multicoloured foams, purees and pudding-like substances which looked like perfect little terrariums sprouting forests of herbs and shellfish but which were overwhelming to the digestion and taste buds. Things weren't really melding and it was like sense-overload. The modern gourmet trend seems to be tending towards the 'more the better'. I can still remember one of the most marvelous dishes I've ever had was escargot with butter and garlic from Nick's Fishmarket. Snails. Butter. Garlic. Period. I still dream of it. But with a lot of these little tastes I got yesterday things were so overwhelming they simply canceled out. Your mind can juggle five-things at once (plus-or minus 2). After that it's on overload and its trance crashes. That's what was happening yesterday: between the wine and the multitude of ingredients in things the mind could not even hold onto what it was tasting and so it just canceled the flavors out. (Here's where hypnosis and mind-sciences could be of invaluable benefit for the gourmet set. A set of conditions could be engineered to create the ultimate experience if you understand how the mind processes sensory input...but I apologize...I digress into my true passion....) At the other extreme there seemed to be a lot of mini burgers everywhere. Wasn't really impressed by that. Especially at 250 dollars a ticket. Someone handed some duck to me in the road that was reminiscent of Peking--the flavor was pretty good, but I think it would have been incredible if it was warm and on crostini instead of cold and on plain bread. As for the service; Pretty much everyone I met was upbeat from the front gate security to the individual restaurateurs were smiling and having a blast. Only met one wine guy who didn't have a sense of humor...Everyone else was there to have fun and they did! It was really a fantastic day and a super experience! PS Not sure why people kept saying you couldn't get food. I don't think I waited in a single line. Maybe it was because it was Sunday. There were a couple of long lines at a couple of places but I just went to other booths. I chatted with people all day and everyone agreed: they were absolutely stuffed. read more

This was a total scam. There were easily twice as many people there than should have been. Negatives -Super long line for food that pretty much resembled a wedding hors d'oeuvres. The line for the east of the stage was a complete travesty. -Getting just a splash of wine. Tough standing inline all those minutes with nothing to drink. -All of the food tents shut down an hour early. Had to go out to dinner afterward. -No idea what was being served and where. -Couldn't find any meatless dishes. -Probably should have given those waiting in line a heads up that there probably wasn't going to be any food left. Thought there wasn't any chance that the Allen brothers tent would run out with 50 Minutes to go....I was wrong. Positives -Good bathrooms -Fiji Water. They should easliy cut the issued tickets by 25% to start. Have some servers with trays walk the grounds and tend to those waiting in line. Have a section where you can get a full glass of wine or beer. Pretty much an embarrassment for the city and organizers. I'd like to see someone investigate how profitable this was for those at the top. Feeling very fortunate that I didn't pay full price. read more

the weather held out! loved this whole event. First time for us. they gave you plates and glasses and you go! lines were not bad, plenty to drink. If you are dissappointed in either of those catagories, you did it wrong. the demos were just ok, hard to do when its not your kitchen... the thing that impressed me was there were plenty of seats, garbage cans, water stations. I would not miss this next year if we have the same experience. read more

So I'll be honest, this was my first time here and I was really ready to get on here and give this even 5 stars. But, after reading some of the negative reviews and talking to my parents who went last year and this year, I had to change my original rating to 3. First off, I got the tickets through my parents, and was super excited to attend after they talked about how awesome it was last year. The boyfriend and I have called this event "The lollapoolza show of food" event My boyfriend and I arrived around 1pm and had a hard time trying to figure out where the entrance was, but my parents had said to go and enter by the bean, so we eventually found a little entrance no one was at. I guess we lucked-out, because my parents said they were at an entrance waiting at 12 in a ridiculous long line! Next, inside, we almost didn't realize we needed to grab the red bags which would have the map, our plate, and wine glass needed for all the venues; but luckily our parents friends stopped us and told us what we needed to do! Then they told us to go get our Stella Artois pronto! So we headed for the Stella booth... What a disaster! We waited in this chaotic herd of people (it was not a line! but a herd!) and after a half hour of waiting, we finally got our Stella, Hoegardden, and Lief beverages & glassware!! So the only frustrating part was that it took forever, and some people behind us were just grabbing glasses when we had been in line longer than they had been in the line. Also, frustrating to watch the line on the other side (since the Stella vendor had two lines split in the middle by the cider tasting) move way faster, because I think there's was actually a line, versus the herd we were in so it was more controlled. After this, things went amazingly! My parents only yelled at us a little for waiting so long in the line because we were wasting our time and missing out on other vendors. Yes, some of the main tastings had EXTREMELY long lines, but everyone was super friendly to each other and thankfully not being rude (for the most part, because I did have one older gentleman cut in front of me in line at one point at the Gibson's tent). I did see some vendors run-out of food, but they seemed to get more not too much later... All the food and wine was AMAZING! I got to eat Gibsons, Hugo's Frog Bar, and MK restaurant food!!! I wouldn't say this was necessarily a bad event or even the best event ever, it just could be better. I will still be attending next year anyway!! I mean, I still walked out with a great wine glass, 2 Blue Moon Glasses, 1 Hoegardden Glass, and a cider class. My boyfriend has a great wine glass as well, 1 Lief Glass, 1 Stella glass, some sunglasses, tons of matchbooks, a picture I took of him with Rahm Emmanuel, and other silly paraphernalia. It seems totally worth the $125 when you think of all the cool stuff you get to experience, the take-homes, and all the food/drinks you could want without ever opening your wallet at the event! read more

2013 event. Very disappointed. This is the third time I've gone, and I will not be back. First we had to wait in line 45 minutes just to get in! The line stretched north to Randolph, and then turned up Randolph. Then the popular venues started running out of food and shutting down at 2:30! Too crowded. seminars filled up very quickly, had to wait in long line after long line for food. Only have maps at entrances, very hard to find venues - a one sheet map in the bag - what an idea! if you're going Sunday, I suggest you get there early, so you get in right at the start and hit the best food stations right away. don't go to the early seminars or demonstrations, as the better foods will be gone by mid- afternoon. get to your seminar venue 15 minutes early to be sure you get a seat. A lot of neat wine and food experiences too bad not set up better. Especially for $150. . read more

2010 Chicago Gourmet was good fun. I enjoyed sampling almost everything that was on hand. It was refreshing to sample fine products and speak to some of the creators of those products or in the very least people who were very knowledgeable of there products. A wide range was on hand, everything you heart desires....fig jam to pulled duck, ice cream, wine, spirits, balsamic glazes, lamb shoulder tacos, etc.... not large meals, but sample sizes. Overall a nice event in a nice setting. My only suggestion would be to have more garbage cans out so that you can dispose of your plate in end. I'm sure this festival will only get better with each year and overall not bad for it being it's second year. The garage below is a bit of a ripoff, 3hrs later- $27. read more

This event was worth every penny that I spent to attend. We enjoyed ourselves during this feeding frenzy. This was a true "foodies delight" and the libations were delicious to boot. read more

Oh. My. Gosh. What do I say about this event? Wow I had a great time. The amount of things you can try is unparalleled to anything else I've been to. Everyone there is having the greatest time and the whole event is electric. This was my first time going and I will be going back to this every year. Even if I were homeless and unemployed I'd find a way to go back. I didn't go to any of the special events which I will next year, so this review is just for the general festival. It costs about $150 to go, and for the amount of gourmet food and drink you get (unlimited) it's more than worth paying that much. I definitely recommend doing the dine around option because then you get double the value. Also you get to keep the Stella Artois, Leffe and Hoegaarden glasses they give you. Many of the restaurants give coupons and swag that you can use later. I definitely recommend this event to everyone, just remember: it's several hours long so think of it as a marathon not a sprint! read more

Chicago Gourmet - Festivals Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Chicago Gourmet Saturday 2011. Pros: There was lots of seating, lots of great wines, Vodka infused Bloody Mary Mix just add tomato juice!Lots of great liquor, great people watching & Rick Tramonto. Ricks sandwich is how portions should have been to keep up with the amount of alcohol and liquor that was at your disposal.I am craving Rick now! Mercadito runner worked his *ss off and the pork taco exploded in your mouth!This is what I expected from the Bannos, RL, VIe... Cons: Jimmy Bannos Heaven on 7(sad to say). Vie only gave Salami(Really! that is what you want to show case!?). A-OKs: Purple Pig tasted more like lamb, it was OK, he is lucky he is cute. RL had great concept with BLT Scallop, but it was so-so. Many chefs took the easy way out, really SALAMI in a PAPER CONE! CEVICHE!?C'mon make like you on Top Chef and turn it out! It is a must see, I will go next year, but I will never go to Heaven on 7, this is the 2nd and last time I will experience bland food. read more

Can't believe I am writing this but too much wine and not enough food. The wine choices were endless and outstanding, but it's called Chicago Gourmet - I expected a wide array of food to be served and not have to wait in long lines to get a morsal. I recommend it, but ask the organizers to add more food next year! read more

Save your money and do NOT waste your time going to this event. It is overcrowded. There are terribly long lines. Once you finally get to the table, all you'll get is below average, and for the most part, cold food. I'm amazed how anyone could have actually enjoyed anything about this event. There is not one good thing that I can say about Chicago Gourmet. Until I hear that they cut back on the amount of people that they allow in, I will never recommend anyone to go to Chicago Gourmet. I had such high hopes, but it turned out to be a complete and utter letdown. read more

Chicago gourmet? More like Chicago booze fest. LOTS of alcohol, VERY LITTLE food. We waited in extremely long lines for food and there really was not much at all- can't say anything that I ate was very good. I was really excited about this event and hate to be a debbie downer- I had fun but it was mostly because of the people I was with and the alcohol- we had to go out to eat afterwards in order to get something in our bellies. Not sure if it would have been different on Saturday- got the groupon rate for sunday and it was overcrowded and at least three lines we waited in ran out of food before we could eat anything. read more

We used a groupon which reduced the admission to $90 per person, and this event was still not worth it, not even close. It took us nearly 4 hours of constant standing in line and we really didn't get full. A number of the restaurants ran out of food while we were in line. If you came to drink, that was easy. If you came to eat, supposedly the point of the event, you were out of luck. We went on Sunday, so I cannot comment on how the lines were for Saturday. I will never return and try to warn my friends away from it as well. read more