Which Chefs, What Shifts, When!?

You know when you’re cooking seven or eight pieces of bacon but they won’t all fit side by side in the pan? You play bacon-tetris to make it all work out – rotating rashers until the pan is full. Organizing chefs into the three sessions of Baconfest is a little like that: our own personal game of Bacon Tetris. Tough work, but tasty!

Today, we reveal to you the result of all that fiddling: the chef schedule for Baconfest Chicago 2015. We hope it helps you make your best decision about which shift to pick on 2/16 when General Admission tickets go on sale.

Please note: General Admission tickets ($100 plus ticketing fees) will be on sale Monday, February 16 at 12:00 noon CST. VIP tickets ($200 each) are already available; VIPs enjoy early access to the event one hour before the general admission crowds arrive.

VIP Tickets [available now] and General Admission tickets [available 2/16] can be purchased here:

http://baconfestchicago2015.eventbrite.com

Tickets sell out every year – mark your calendars to BE READY on February 16 at noon central.

Baconfest will unfold over THREE exhibition sessions:

Friday Dinner on April 17 – General Admission from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Saturday Lunch on April 18 – General Admission from 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Saturday Dinner on April 18 – General Admission from 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Ticket-holders get access to our bacon wonderland during the session they choose. They’ll also receive a reusable Baconfest shopping bag (sure to be an object of envy at every farmer’s market) and the karmic satisfaction of knowing that a portion of ticket proceeds goes to support the good work of the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Last year alone, we raised over $75,000 for the GCFD.

Tickets include access to:
1. Unlimited creative bacon-dishes from an all-star lineup of Chicago chefs (more on them below). More than 50 restaurants/chefs who will be sharing their bacon-creations with our guests at each session.

2. Samples of bacony wares from a curated selection of Sponsors & Experience Partners. Veterans like Whole Foods Market and Enjoy: Urban General Store will be joined this year by new partners Oberto Meats, Cabot Cheese and Wagshal’s Iberico Bacon. Of course, Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats is back as our Bacon Sponsor, yes! Last year, they provided almost four tons of bacon for chefs to use in their dishes. Viva la Nueske’s! Their bacon is awesome and their support makes this event possible and delicious. Look here for all of our sponsors.

3. Seven drink tickets to exchange for ingenious bacon-cocktails, wine and beer.

We’re finalizing the details for 2015 drinks – here’s what we can say for sure. As they did last year, Wirtz Beverage Illinois will be staffing a cocktail mega-station featuring cocktails and beers from their vast portfolio of products. The Fifty/50 will be back with the Wobble-Stopper, the official Bloody Mary of Baconfest.

We’ll also have an assortment of frosty beers on-hand, including brews from Goose Island Beer Company, Old Style, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Labatt Blue, Revolution Brewing Company, and new for 2015 Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery. Smeraldina Water will keep you hydrated and our new coffee partner High Brew Coffee will keep you caffeinated (no tickets required for water, soda or coffee).

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Today we are most pleased to release the shift breakdown for our participating restaurants. We couldn’t be more grateful and honored that these ingenious chefs have chosen to share their time and energy with us to help us create our amazing bacon-party. Use this schedule to decide which session (or sessions!) you’d like to attend.

FRIDAY DINNER 4/17
Cooking Channel VIP Hour – 6:00pm-7:00pm
General Admission – 7:00pm-10:00pm