This week’s Forecast is a culinary tour around the globe. Whether you decide to enjoy Mexican-Cuban food at Cafe 28, stir-fry like the home cooks of China, or learn about the politics behind America’s beer industry at the Chicago’s first Food Film Festival, let your favorite tastes take you to your favorite places.
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photo by ginnerobot on Flickr licensed under Creative Commons
Stir-Fry Lecture, Demo and Book Signing with Grace Young Brush up on your stir-frying skills with expert Grace Young next Saturday, September 25 at 10 a.m. at Kendall College School of Culinary Arts (900 North Branch Street). Young, a chef and author of books such as The Breath of a Wok and Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge, will be lecturing, demonstrating her techniques and showing interviews she conducted with Chinese home cooks. The program costs $5, $3 for students and free for Culinary Historians members and Kendall students and faculty. To reserve a spot, call Catherine at (847) 423-8255 or email your reservations to culinary.historians@gmail.com.
First Annual Chicago Food Film Festival Taste the food you see on screen on September 24 and 25 at the First Annual Chicago Food Film Festival. The Festival, which will take place at the MCA Warehouse at 1747 W. Hubbard, aims to provide a full sensory experience by coupling films about food with actual culinary experiences. Friday night’s schedule will feature six short films, which will be accompanied by treats such as fried cheese curds, exotic sodas and ice cream, while Saturday’s exhibit will show three topical films: ‚ “Beer Wars,” about the American beer industry, “The Best of Hamburger America,” a shortened version of the film that was the centerpiece of the original Food Film Festival in New York and “Cud,” which follows a farmer who grass feeds all his cattle. Advance tickets to the festival are $20 and are available at chicagofoodfilmfestival.com. ‚ As a loyal reader, be sure to enter the discount code “FoodFilmFest” for a 10% savings.
Cuban-Mexican Fiesta at Cafe 28 Ready your palate for a fiesta on Tuesday, September 21, when ChicaGourmets will be hosting a three-course Mexican-Cuban dinner with wine pairings at Cafe 28 (1800 West Irving Park Road). Appetizers such as shrimp quesadillas and vegetable empanadas will be served, along with a first course of calamar a la parilla (grilled marinated calamari served with a roasted red pepper sauce, sauteed vegetables and goat cheese) , a second course of blackened duck and tres leches cake with mango sorbet for dessert. The dinner begins at 6 p.m. and costs $85 for ChicaGourmet members and $95 for non-members. You can reserve your tickets online here.