Baconfest Chicago

“Due to popular demand … ” – these are some of our favorite words around here at Baconfest HQ.
Today, due to popular demand, we are adding a second night to the Chalkboard Satellite Dinner! Sponsors Nueske’s Bacon and Templeton Rye will be there, rockin’ the tasty bacon and savory rye whiskey.
The second dinner will be [...]

UPDATE 8/17/2010 – the Chalkboard Dinner on 9/13 is at capacity.  Please email seth@baconfestchicago.com to have your name added to the waitlist.
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We’re starting up the bacon-wheel for the coming year’s bacon events.
The first bacon arrow in our quiver: Baconfest Chicago’s Satellite Dinner #1, at Chalkboard Restaurant. Our satellite events give the Baconfest chefs [...]

Here are the links to PDF downloads for the menus for yesterday’s fest:
Shift 1
Shift 2
ADDENDUM: Daniel Zemans of SeriousEats.com took a look at our menus and cross-checked them against his reporter’s notebook. He let us know about a few changes that chefs made between when we went to print with the menus and [...]

We’re super excited about the bacon cooking demos we’ve set up for the fest.
In the first shift, Mike Gebert, king of Chicago’s spectacular food video podcast Sky Full of Bacon, will show attendees how to prepare a pork belly to make bacon at home.

http://skyfullofbacon.com
In the late shift, Gary Wiviott, BBQ life coach, author of the [...]

Baconfest Chicago Cookoff Recap: Well, No One Died

The Golden Rashers
Baconfest Chicago proper won’t be for another six months, but if Saturday’s VIP pro cookoff is any indication organizers Seth Zurer, Michael Griggs and Andre Pluess might want to have some ambulances at the ready. Or at least some Lipitor. We won’t get into another debate [...]

Baconfest Pro Cookoff: we have a winnah
Posted by Mike Sula on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 at 12:20 PM

Ron Kaplan
Chris Pandel’s “breakfast braciole”
In terms of attendance, Saturday’s Baconfest Chicago Pro Cookoff [...]

Baconfest: An Ode to Pig Belly in Chicago
Posted by Daniel Zemans, October 26, 2009 at 5:15 PM
“If any attendees walked out of Baconfest disappointed, 100% of the blame falls on their defective palates.”

Inside-out pig in a blanket from David Burke’s Primehouse. [Photographs: Daniel Zemans]
You never know when inspiration is going to hit. For [...]

Bacon reaches new heights of popularity

By Rick Asa
Special to the Tribune
October 28, 2009

From the sublime to the ridiculous, bacon has the entire spectrum in tow these days. As cured pork belly reaches new heights of popularity, pop culture homages to this most tasty of treats are slamming head-on into parody.
Bacon-flavored rolling [...]

Two top chefs bring home the bacon at Pro Bacon Cook-Off
by Therese Ruiz
Oct 28, 2009
Pan fried. Seared. Braised. Slow roasted. Deep fried. Sliced and served to perfection.
Ten Chicago area chefs whipped up a variety of bacon dishes last Saturday, filling the lofty main room of The Publican with the meat’s smoky, distinct smell.
It was [...]

At Saturday’s Pro Bacon Cook-off, we were lucky to eat ten outstanding bacon-centric dishes.
During our video shoots, we tried to get the chefs to act macho and competitive about the Golden Rasher competition. We thought it would make good Baco-TV. But almost to a one, the chefs declined to crow and posture.
Giuseppe Tentori [...]