Five of the top farm to table chefs in the midwest worked side by side last night in the kitchen at North Pond, to present a vision of what organizer Steve Plotnicki calls “Modern Midwestern Cuisine.” Although no one can quite put their finger on what makes some farm to table cooking fit that bill and others not— even North Pond chef Bruce Sherman, who hosted the dinner, admitted he wasn’t entirely sure— the dinner from these five chefs began to paint a clearer picture, with food that is not only local but prepared cleanly, almost minimally, somewhat outside the traditions of French/fine dining kitchens (but sometimes taking in other ethnic traditions of the midwest). Whether or not you can pin the concept down, there was no question that this was a great opportunity to try the cooking of important chefs outside the Chicago area who deserve more notice within our Chicago-centric focus. Meet the chefs and see what they made in our slideshow below.
