It’s become a tradition! WBEZ will kick off the season with culinary combat: five remarkable chefs, five Goose Island beers – each chef paired with a brew which they must use as an ingredient in the dish of their choice for you to taste and judge. With prizes for the winning chef!

Hosted at the Goose Island Brewery, join us for an evening of fun surrounded by barrels of beer (with the beer freely flowing, of course, because you need to taste the five battle beers for yourself in order to be the best possible judge). And if free food and complementary beer wasn’t enough, the evening’s soundtrack will be not-to-miss – provided by our very own Tony Sarabia, host of WBEZ’s Radio M, live on the turntables.

Following the audience tasting and judging each chef’s entry, the event will culminate with the awarding of battle prizes by WBEZ blogger Louisa Chu, who has cooked around the world, from Paris to Alaska. Chu trained at El Bulli, Ducasse, Alinea, Moto, and other restaurants. She graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris with Le Grand Diplôme for concurrent studies in cuisine and pâtisserie. She has appeared on Food Network’s Iron Chef America, Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, PBS’s Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie, and other outlets. Her writing has appeared in Gourmet, CHOW, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and other publications.

2011 Chefs:

Chef Jill Barron has worked with ethnic foods her whole career. Her casual, elegant approach to dining has appealed to the Chicago scene since her return from California in the 90’s, winning Chicago Magazine’s best new restaurants for both de cero taqueria and Mana Food Bar. She feels that vegetables have been underated, and is proving to Chicago that a meatless meal can be satisfying, delicious, and familiar. Chef Jill Barron was the winner of WBEZ’s 2009 Chicago Chef Battle.

Chef Chris Curren achieved recognition for his culinary contributions as Sous Chef of many of Cleveland, Ohio’s top restaurants including Bravo!, Hyde Park Steakhouse and 3 Birds Restaurant. In 2006, with a desire to further his career, Curren moved to Chicago and by the end of 2007 had his sights set on his own restaurant. Hooking up with business partner Dan Marunowski, the two opened Blue 13 in 2008 where as executive chef, Curren serves up his contemporary American creations nightly. 

Chef Carlos Ysaguirre cooks with the seasons.  A native from Texas, Carlos’ passion for cooking drove him to Chicago at the age of 22 in hope to develop and hone his culinary skills.  After working at Chicago’s culminating restaurants, Carlos took the reigns at Anteprima & Acre as chef/partner to work even closer with local farmers and their produce and proteins.

Chef Leonard Hollander is the Executive Chef at Oak Park’s trendy, and newly “Green Certified” bistro, Marion Street Cheese Market.  Chef Hollander’s culinary creativity, southern roots, and sustainable practices, combine to create a signature style cuisine, enhanced by some of the best local and seasonal ingredients.

Chef Heather Terhune opened Sable Kitchen & Bar in April 2010 with a focus on contemporary New American social plates, after more than a decade perfecting American favorites as the Executive Chef at Atwood Café. A fan of the “eat local” movement, Terhune has incorporated Midwestern ingredients into Sable’s menu by supporting sustainable and organic agriculture, including Chicago’s own Green City Market.

This event is sponsored in-part by: