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TV Schedule
Recipes
A Nostalgic Jambalaya Recipe from Virtue Chef and 'Top Chef' Contestant Damarr Brown
Damarr Brown, the Chef de Cuisine at Virtue in Hyde Park, wasn't sure he wanted to do Top Chef at first. But after his mentor, Chef Erick Williams, encouraged him to take the opportunity, he went far in the competition. Brown discusses representation in the Chicago restaurant industry and shares his recipe for Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya.
A Lemon-Lime Soda Pop Cake from Chicago's Mission-Oriented Bakery Justice of the Pies
Maya-Camille Broussard loved eating 7-Up cake at her cousin's after school. Now the James Beard Award-nominated baker, whose Justice of the Pies bakery runs culinary workshops for children and donates food, shares a recipe for that childhood treat.
Naengmyeon: An Invigorating Cold Noodle Dish from ‘The Korean Vegan’
For TikTok creator and James Beard Book Award-nominated cookbook author Joanne Lee Molinaro, food and family are inextricably linked. She shares the story behind her recipe for vegan naengmyeon, or cold buckwheat noodles.
A Summertime Lychee Martini from the James Beard-Nominated Chicago Bar Nobody's Darling
Just a little over a year after it opened, Nobody's Darling already has a James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Bar Program. Co-owners Angeles Barnes and Renauda Riddle share the story of their Andersonville cocktail bar, along with the recipe for their Southside Lychee Martini.
A Recipe from Forty Acres Fresh Market, Which is Bringing a Grocery Store to the West Side
Liz Abunaw envisions the coming brick-and-mortar Forty Acres Fresh Market as "the place where you are in the middle of making a dish," like her recipe for buffalo cauliflower, "and you run out of something and you run up two blocks to go get it."
Savor the "Quintessentially Filipino" Flavor of Pandan in These Crinkle Cookies
“It’s kind of like a grassy vanilla, maybe with some coconut or floral overtones,” says author Mia P. Manansala of pandan, which flavors numerous Southeast Asian desserts. That includes Manansala's crinkle cookie recipe, which she shares ahead of an upcoming book.
Get the dish!
Food Stories
Geoffrey Baer Explores Foods Born in Chicago
Plenty of American cities have iconic foods associated with them that tourists flock to and natives love (or love to hate). But what about all the other foods that originated in Chicago but are less often found downtown or on lists of must-eat foods?
Moving Beyond Phở at a Revamped Chicago Vietnamese Restaurant
After remodeling, Lincoln Square's LC Phở n Grill reopened with an expanded menu that features harder-to-find Vietnamese dishes that the husband-and-wife owners workshopped while exploring Vietnamese restaurants in California.
Chicago's One-of-a-Kind Korean Soup Specialist
Han Bat serves basically one thing: the milky, restorative Korean soup known as seolleongtang, which takes hours and hours to make. "When [Koreans] come to visit Chicago, they come over here, because... we are the only one who does this kind of food," says the owner.
A Filipino Restaurant Born Out of a Love for Mom's Cooking
"I never really loved high school lunches or any of that, anything outside of what my mom prepared in the kitchen," says Ray Espiritu, the owner of Isla Pilipina in Lincoln Square. When he didn't know what to do after graduating, he decided to take over a restaurant.
A Chicago Restaurant Where Indian and Chinese Influences Meet
Himalayan Sherpa Kitchen serves many hard-to-find Nepali specialties, which combine Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese culinary influences, unlike many other Nepali restaurants in Chicago, which offer mostly North Indian dishes.
A New Life in Chicago Serving an Old Food That Represents Their Home
Andrea Andrade and Jose Navea didn't plan to stay in Chicago when they came to visit. Now they operate their own restaurant serving arepas, a nostalgic staple food of their home country of Venezuela. "You can't say Venezuela and not say arepas," Navea says.Thanks to our sponsors:
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Food Series
Check, Please!
The Emmy-winning local restaurant review series from WTTW Chicago features host, master sommelier, and restaurateur Alpana Singh sitting down with three “regular person” guest reviewers as they compare notes on their experiences at three Chicago-area eateries.
Chefs Off the Clock
Discover the ways Chicago’s celebrity chefs unwind after they clock out of the kitchen. Get to know another side of these interesting personalities who — while known for their passion and work ethic in the kitchen — are fascinating and passionate people in their personal lives as well.
FOODPHILES
Meet the people who feed you. This digital takes you into the kitchen, behind the bar, and into the field to introduce you to a chef or restaurateur who prepares food and libations as they share their personal stories and insights about the meaning of their work, how they got into the hospitality business, and why they have such a passion for what they do.
Foods of Chicago
Join Geoffrey Baer as he plays both taste tester and tour guide, exploring the little-known stories behind Chicago's favorite foods! Along this delectable journey, learn how the Chicago-style hot dog came into being, discover the connection between Al Capone and Jay's Potato Chips, take a tour down Chicago's New Maxwell Street Market, learn about the birth of the classic SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE "cheezborger" routine from the Billy Goat tavern, and so much more!
Dishalicious
This cooking demonstration program filmed before a live audience in WTTW's Grainger Studio is hosted by Sarah Grueneberg, James Beard award-winning chef/owner of Chicago's Monteverde and runner-up on "Iron Chef" and "Iron Chef Gauntlet." Each week, Sarah is joined by three extraordinary local chefs who band together to prepare a unique meal.
Food Thoughts
Healthy eating and food education are essential to preparing the very youngest members of our community for school and life. Pilot Light and WTTW team up to encourage healthy eating with FOOD THOUGHTS, an animated series of videos for kids and families. Puppy chef host “Puprika” joins a diverse group of children and families to visit their homes, gardens, farms, and schools.
