Food+Drink - News, Photos and More on the Windy Citizen

The Chicago Culinary Museum and Chefs Hall of Fame honored one of Chicago's finest Wednesday evening, with the induction of Chef Rick Bayless of Topolobampo and Frontera Grill.

At the end of September, Chicago will celebrate its culinary roots with a gourmet food and wine festival. The two-day event is being produced by the Illinois Restaurant Association and will be held in Millennium Park. In an interview, Sheila O'Grady, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, shares her thoughts on the event-how it got started, what visitors can expect and what challenges they've faced while organizing the culinary showcase.

Q: How did the idea for Chicago Gourmet first come about?

For three days, from July 21 through the 24th, Wrigleyville residents got an unexpected treat, free pizza-about 60 pies worth. The slices were courtesy of Ian's Pizza by the Slice, a new restaurant that just opened on Clark Street south of Addison Avenue. Unfortunately it wasn't exactly what managers Jaime Gamez and Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau had planned for the restaurant's launch. In fact, giving away pizza was exactly the opposite of what they had wanted to do.

In case you missed the press releases from a handful of newly opened frozen yogurt shops around the city, probiotics-infused foods are all the rage. Berry Chill, Starfruit and Yoberri are just a few of the Chicago dessert shops to boast the live bacteria.

But while the consumer market only recently jumped on the bacteria bandwagon, food technologists at the U.S. Army have been experimenting with probiotics for years hoping to capitalize on the health benefits of the live bacteria and develop foods for military personnel abroad.

Keeping food at the 28th annual Taste of Chicago fresh and safe is Frances Guichard's primary concern this week. But, then again, it's her primary concern the other 355 days of the year. As the Food Protection Program Director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, Guichard, along with the rest of the department staff, works hard to educate and inform Chicagoans about food safety in and out of the home.