Baconfest Chicago

Introducing the 24 Guest Chefs for Baconfest Chicago 2010:

See the “Tickets!!” Tab (up and to the right) for more info on purchasing tix.

Shift 1:  11am-2pm

Big Jones – Chef Paul Fehribach

Boka – Chef Giuseppe Tentori

Café Matou – Chef Charlie Socher

Hearty Boys – Chef Dan Smith

Longman and Eagle – Chef Jared Wentworth

Province – Chef Randy Zweiban

Socca – Chef Roger Herring

Sable Kitchen and Bar – Chef Heather Terhune

Otom – Chef Thomas Bowman

Veerasway – Chef Steven Hubbell

One sixtyblue – Chef Michael McDonald

The Bristol – Chef Chris Pandel

Shift 2:  3pm-6pm

Atwood Cafe – Chef Derek Simcik

Southwater Kitchen – Chef Chris Lateano

Balsan – Chef Jason McLeod

Chalkboard – Chef Gilbert Langlois

David Burke’s Primehouse – Chef Rick Gresh

Eve Restaurant – Chef Troy Graves

The Purple Pig – Chef Jimmy Bannos Jr.

Lula Cafe – Chef Jason Hammel

Paddy Long’s – Chef Chris Latchford

Vie – Sous Chef Nathan Sears

The Signature Room – Chef Patrick Sheerin

Piccolo Sogno – Chef Tony Priolo

(Both shifts subject to change.)

Dear Bacon-Nation,

It’s hard out there for a bacon-pimp – let me tell you.  I never write blog entries with random musings about what’s on my mind, but this is what planning the Bacon-bash to end all Bacon-bashes has driven me to:  sharing my feelings with complete strangers.

Yet strangers are we not since we share in common a mutual love and impenetrable devotion to the holiest of meats.

This is Andre Vonbaconvitch saying: I can not wait for Baconfest Chicago!!!!!  There, I’ve said it.  All I want to do is have it happen right now, all around me, engulfing me in it’s awesomeness.  This event is going to be so bacon-tastic, I can’t even see straight.  And I’m not just saying that cuz I’m planning it with my pals Mike and Seth.

I just wish tickets could go on sale right now, cuz I know it will sell out in a day!  But alas, my comrades are a little more realistic than I, and they want to cross a few more “t”s and dot a few more “i”s before we unleash on Bacon-nation the opportunity to secure tickets.

So I thought I’d update you friends on where we are in planning, a little sneak-preview, an appetizer if you will, of the glory that will be Baconfest Chicago April 10th at the Stan Mansion in Logan Square, 11am-6pm.

Our appeals to local chefs to participate in an event called Baconfest Chicago have been deliriously successful, proving once again that Bacon is the Helen of Troy of meats.  So deluged were we by chefs eager to join us, to donate their culinary talents, to bring their bacon-creations to the bacon-nation masses, asking nothing in exchange but the mere gratification derived from sharing the joy of Bacon, we decided a week ago to move to a two shift model expanding our day from one 3 hour shift, to Two!!

The Mansion is just not big enough.  Our mistake, won’t happen again.  Baconfest Chicago is now from 11am-6pm.  More time, more chefs, more food, more room for you all to come join us!

Next week we’ll be announcing a line up of 24 chefs from some of Chicago’s finest restaurants across all spectrums of culinary proclivities.   The range and diversity of chefs is simply glorious – so many variations on our bacony theme, whether one prefers raucous punk-rock or elegant chamber strings, a fan of bacon will BELIEVE they are in heaven.

Seriously, these chefs ROCK and they are excited.  They are professional chefs who love bacon, who are cooking it for a bacon-festival, filled with bacon-loving freaks!  IT CAN’T NOT BE AMAZING!!!

As if that is not enough, there will be beer.   I repeat, there is going to be bacon, there is going to be beer and it is going to be AWESOME!  Steve Mosqeuda of the Drinking and Writing Brewery has joined us as our Beer Czar, ensuring that a wide variety of local craft-beer will stock the Baconfest Bar waiting to quench the throats made parched from all that bacon.  All.  That.  BACON.

And if that is STILL not enough, the Bacon-Expo in the downstairs gymnasium is going to have a KILLER line-up of merchants giving out samples and selling all sorts of Bacon-stuff!!!!  You name it, we got gourmet meat-markets, bakeries who specialize in bacon-based sweets, hog farmers, bacon-distributors, this dude who makes bacon t-shirts, this lady who makes bacon pillows and bracelets and jewelry… and the list goes on and on.

Gonna be insane.  I wish it were tomorrow.  Thank God it’s not.  Planning this thing is kicking our butts.

So stay tuned.  You, anyone who cared enough to still be reading this, you are the Baconfest Chicago Faithful.  And you will get first crack at tickets cuz you will see it here first, the second tickets go on sale.  Hang in with us bacon-lovers.  We’re ALMOST THERE.  Tix will go on sale by the end of February, or I don’t love bacon.

A year and a half ago, Mike, Seth and I had a collective vision shared over late-night drinks, the vision of a festival dedicated to nothing but bacon.  It was a luminous (if a bit hazy) mirage.  Last Fall at the Publican VIP cookoff, we made “first contact”.  On April 10th, the dream will become reality.

This is why in spite of it all, God Bless America!

Thank you Bacon-nation for letting me get this off my chest.

Get April 10th in your calendars.

I feel so much better.

Andre Vonbaconvitch
andre@baconfestchicago.com