Announcing Baconfest Chicago’s 2012 Exhibiting Restaurants : Baconfest Chicago

Announcing Baconfest Chicago’s 2012 Exhibiting Restaurants

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All right Bacon Nation, Let’s do this!!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you out there in Baconland. April 14th is T minus 92 days and counting. We wanted to kick off the new year by sharing with you a sneak peek at the roster of restaurants and chefs who will be joining us for Baconfest Chicago 2012.

NOTE: We are still in the process of determining which restaurants will be exhibiting at which Sessions (Lunch vs. Dinner). We will announce those details as we get closer to putting general admission tickets on sale in late February. Repeat: We have not yet determined the exact exhibition schedule for April 14th.

Why are we announcing the exhibiting roster so far in advance of General Admission tickets going on sale? Because we want you all to have as much time as possible to appreciate, to admire and to absorb the glory of this roster. We like to joke about Bacon being “the meat that launched a thousand ships”. Well… it’s not quite a thousand, but well over 100 Chicagoland restaurants have come aboard for Baconfest Chicago 2012. Seth, Michael and I have been absolutely deluged with affirmative responses to our invites proving yet again that the power of bacon can never be underestimated.

Over 100 chefs and restaurants are getting together to exhibit the bacon-creation of their choice. Need we say more?

General admission tickets ($75.00) will go on sale in late February exact date t.b.d. As always, the Baconfest Chicago faithful will be rewarded with advanced info on the exact schedule of ticket-release. Sign up on our mailing list if you are not already. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

And yes, as in years past, there will be fun contests to win tickets: the Amateur Bacon Cook-off and “best” bacon song, bacon poem and bacon you-tube video competitions to name a few. Stay tuned.

For now, we have this to say:

The below roster of restaurants and chefs are (as of January 10, 2012) scheduled to exhibit the bacon dish of their choice for Baconfest Chicago at the UIC Forum on April 14, 2012. Our city’s, nation’s and possibly the world’s largest Bacon-centric-celebration would not be possible without the generous support of these amazing chefs and restauranteurs.

Here are some things to know about them:

1. Each and every one of them has chosen to donate their time, talent and resources to our glorious bacon celebration.
2. They are joining this event inspired by their love of bacon, their desire to share that love with you all, and in support of and solidarity with our charity partner The Greater Chicago Food Depository, one of the nation’s greatest anti-hunger organizations based right here on the south west side of Chicago.
3. They are all incredibly generous, great people, and are excited to party with you all on April 14th.

Without further ado, here is the roster of exhibiting restaurants for BFC 2012 (as of the beginning of January). Know them and love them as we do!

Seth, Michael and I could not be more thrilled and grateful to have so many fantastic chefs and restaurants joining us for Baconfest Chicago 2012 – proving yet again “All you need is Bacon, Bacon… Bacon’s all you need”.

There are many sponsors to thank and we will get to proper sponsor props in due time, but we would be remiss if we did not at this point throw at least one shout out to our Bacon Sponsor Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats. They are (for the 4th straight year) generously offering to provide bacon to any of our exhibitors who choose to use Nueske’s in their dishes. Needless to say this is an insanely generous gift especially as the scope of the event has grown. Viva la Nueske’s.

If you are a restauranteur out there wondering “how did we not get an invite!?”, apologies. Feel free to reach out to andre@baconfestchicago.com and we’ll see what we can do.

If you are a vendor (i.e. a non restaurant) who would like to exhibit at Baconfest Chicago 2012, please e-mail vendors@baconfestchicago.com

If you are interested in being a sponsor for Baconfest Chicago 2012, please e-mail sponsors@baconfestchicago.com

Questions, press requests and for more info – e-mail andre@baconfestchicago.com or call 773-456-9975.

Again, Happy New Year to all you bacon-freaks out there!

Andre, Michael and Seth
Team Baconfest Chicago