SERVING UP INSPIRATION

In foodservice, change is the order of the day — and the 2023 National Restaurant Association Show is where you’ll find everything you need to deliver – right here in Chicago. Tap into the potential that awaits on the legendary Show floor filled with future-forward suppliers and over 900 product categories powering automation, efficiency, safety, sustainability, and sanitation. Satisfy your appetite for innovation.

The Best in Vegan Sweets From Around the World

The Very Vegan Sweet Shop, a brand new, curated, and 100% vegan sweet shop is now open online. The shop is a project from Nicole Sopko, a 25+ year vegan, food industry veteran, and all-around lover of sweets. Nicole has worked in the food industry for over 12 years, serving as the Vice President of vegan-owned meat alternative brand, Upton’s Naturals. She has also served as a Founding Board Member and is the current President of the Board of Directors for the industry trade group, the Plant Based Foods Association. Her time in the industry has given her exposure to many amazing products that she wanted to share, which led to the creation of her own mail order business, which she will pursue in addition to her current roles.

“There is something about a beautifully packaged and delicious sweet treat that can make even ordinary moments special. By opening The Very Vegan Sweet Shop, it’s my hope that more people can bring those special moments home for themselves or others,” Sopko said. “The Very Vegan Sweet Shop is the answer to finding the perfect gift for holidays, special occasions, or corporate gift giving and we hope to work with our customers to contribute to more very special moments to come!”

The Very Vegan Sweet Shop is currently stocking over 100 vegan sweets from candy bars to gourmet chocolates to baked goods and other confectionary treats from the US and Europe. The business is currently shipping in the US with plans to add international shipping soon and will continue to add new products and assortments weekly, with a specific focus on special holiday items.

For more information: theveryvegansweet.com or @theveryvegan

Demonstrate

The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group recently opened the doors of Kindling | Downtown Cookout & Cocktails, the newest addition and first full-service restaurant offering in Willis Tower’s Catalog, featuring a seasonally rotating menu from Chef Partner Jonathon Sawyer centered around wood-fired cuisine. Providing a gathering place in the heart of the city for all to enjoy, the 17,000 sq. ft. space seats 500 across both indoor and outdoor dining spaces. The 200-seat, second floor terrace overlooking Adams Street will open this summer. Kindling is open Monday through Saturday with lunch and dinner reservations available from 11:00 a.m. through 9:00 p.m. Kindling’s happy hour-Tower Hour, is available starting with the opening of lunch service from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. daily.

Kindling boasts a live fire show kitchen complete with one of the largest wood-fire grills in Chicago that acts as the “heart” of the restaurant space. Chef Sawyer draws inspiration from his international travels and extensive experience with live-fire cooking for Kindling’s menu, which features dishes such as Wood-Fired Oysters offered in four variations, Rotisserie Duck Rigatoni using freshly made pasta, Colorado Lamb Chops and Pastrami Spiced Short Ribs. Lunch service features a condensed menu of wood-fired starters, variations of grilled skewers, sandwiches, and lighter entrees whereas dinner service features a grander menu and large format dining options such as the 24 oz 50 Day Dry Aged Bone-in Ribeye prepared over open flame.

“The menu really showcases the versatility and depth of the wood-fire grill.” “We have created very unique flavor profiles and unexpected dishes for Kindling’s menu that the public will really enjoy,” said Chef Sawyer. “It has been our goal to bring elevated wood-fired dining to the heart of Chicago since we began developing Kindling’s concept in 2020, and this menu definitely achieves that.”

The contemporary space, designed by the Simone Deary Design Group, is sectioned into three zones to provide various atmospheres throughout the restaurant. The main dining area located on the ground level boasts a warm ambiance with cushioned booth seating and lush greenery that leads to an expansive bar setting complete with high top seating. Exclusive seating around the live fire show kitchen on the first floor where guests can witness live-fire cooking is offered for reservations in a limited capacity. Upstairs, the space opens to a secondary dining area that surrounds another full-service bar and overlooks the first floor. Guests can enjoy games such as foosball and shuffleboard in the back section of the second floor in the Jackson Park zone, which doubles as a semi-private event space that can accommodate up to 70 guests. The restaurant also features The Birch, a reservation-only, boardroom inspired private dining room that seats 10 and offers a pre-fixed menu, perfect for business meetings and special events. Kindling is the latest addition to Catalog, the new retail, dining and entertainment destination that was added to the base of Willis Tower as part of its recent $500 million redevelopment. Catalog now includes more than a dozen curated dining and retail options that serve building tenants, neighbors and visitors.

Founded in 2008,The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group is a fun-loving group of individuals responsible for creating several diverse restaurant and bar concepts across Chicago. Through hard work and innovation by the principals and partners, the group either owns or manages 14 establishments since its inception. The founding of The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group was the result of the partnership between Scott Weiner and Greg Mohr, who became great friends and coworkers in 2003 when they began working together with Lettuce Entertain You. With the opening of The Fifty/50 in Wicker Park, they found themselves at the forefront of Chicago’s growing restaurant and bar movement and have yet to slow down opening Chicago fixtures such as Roots Handmade Pizza, West Town Bakery, Utopian Tailgate, and the Berkshire Room.

Ice

Our

Chef Profile

Bryan Evers

Velvet Buffalo

Modern Italian 500 Public Ave. Beloit, WI 53511

Birthplace: Chicago

Current Position:

Executive Chef.

First Foodservice Job: Cleaning my cousin’s dive bar in New York City when I was 15 years old.

Favorite Food: Liege Waffles.

Awards/Honors: I was lucky enough to be a part of numerous Michelin star and bib gourmand restaurants in New York and Chicago

Memorable Customers: Dave Chappelle, Nick Kroll, Stephanie Izard.

Worst Part of Job: Missing important events family/ friends.

Favorite Food to Prepare: Scallops

Most Humorous Kitchen Mishap: When I was a line cook I cut the tip of my finger off, and glued it back on with meat glue.

What part of the job gives the most pleasure: Making people happy, customers/employees all the same

If you couldn’t be a chef, what would you be: I actually had a health scare a few years ago. I didn’t know if I would be able to go back to cooking. I became very interested in the milk and cheese making business. So I would do either that or I did go to school for Audio Engineering, and had I not fallen in love with cooking I probably would be in that field today.

Best advice you ever got was...When a chef asks you something. You have two options. “Yes Chef” and “No Chef,” and you never say “No Chef”. Figure it out. Where do you like to vacation? Depends on the time of year, and the reasoning. I try to visit my two best friends for a few days once a year in California and Florida. My daughter is in college in Louisville, and I go visit her for her birthday every year. Then a staycation is nice sometimes.

Who was your greatest culinary influence? Stephanie Izard and Jared Wentworth.

FreshFry Pods Reduce Church’s Oil Expenses

Church’s Texas Chicken will expand its use of FreshFry Pods, a product that extends the life of frying oil and helps the chain use less of the increasingly expensive commodity. After a successful test, the chain is in the process of a nationwide rollout and plans to introduce the pods at international units this year.