Food & Entertainment

The Evening's Emcee

  • Enrique Rodriguez, Anchor/Reporter, Univision Chicago
    Enrique Rodriguez is co-anchor for Univision’s weekend news as well as a general assignment reporter during the week. Originally from Uruapan in the State of Michoacán, Mexico, Enrique Rodriguez is proud of his immigrant roots and committed to giving back to the Latino community. In May 2006, Rodriguez supported the Healthy Schools Campaign by serving as emcee for the Parents’ Rally for Healthy Schools, an event that brought together more than 700 parents and students from around the city to support healthy food, physical activity and nutrition education in schools.

Celebrity Chef Demos
Learn cooking secrets from celebrity chefs:

  • Gale Gand of Tru
    As executive pastry chef and partner of Tru in Chicago, Gale Gand has delighted diners with her breathtaking presentations at this critically acclaimed dining destination since it’s opening in 1999. Gand is the winner of numerous awards including Outstanding Pastry Chef by the James Beard Foundation. Tru was named Best Restaurant by Chicago Magazine in 2004 with Gand being named Best Pastry Chef. The author of several cookbooks, she will release "Chocolate and Vanilla" in October 2006. Gand hosts the Food Network show, “Sweet Dreams” and is advisory board member for Robert Morris College’s School for the Culinary Arts, the Environmental Working Group, and Art Smith’s (Oprah’s chef) Common Threads Foundation, which teaches children about ethnic diversity through food.

  • Bruce Sherman of North Pond
    A native Chicagoan, chef/partner Bruce Sherman of Chicago’s North Pond restaurant utilizes influences from his travels and cooking in Paris, Southeast Asia and London to produce his true-to-the-season contemporary French-American cuisine. He also shares his vision by promoting sustainable cuisine as a board member of Chefs Collaborative. Sherman was honored by Food & Wine as one of America’s “Best New Chefs” in the July 2003 issue and with a “Good Eating Award” by the “Chicago Tribune” in November of the same year. He serves on the national boards of Chefs Collaborative and Slow and is a founding member of Chicago’s Green City Market, the city’s only sustainable market.

Meet the Spatulatta Co-Hosts: Olivia and Isabella Gerasole

Spatulatta.com, where kids teach kids to cook and eat well via step-by-step streaming videos, is the first-ever James Beard Award winning Webcast. Every two weeks, Spatulatta serves up a delicious, new five-recipe set that produces a full meal with main dish and sides. The recipes are designed to introduce new flavors, textures and ingredients to young palates. Beginning cooks of all ages find them easy to follow with great results. Spatulatta has 125 video recipes archived and a cookbook in the works with Scholastic Books.

  • Isabella Gerasole, 10
    Isabella “Belle” Gerasole hates rapini, but unlike most 10 year olds she actually knows what it is! As co-host of the James Beard Awardwinning Web site Spatulatta.com, Belle is always delighted to experience new foods and show other kids how to prepare them. Her favorite recipe is pesto. She’s a fourth grader in Evanston, Illinois, just north of Chicago. A straight-A student, Belle likes to swim, read and will soon act the role of May Peterson in the Music Institute of Chicago’s allkid production of “Bye Bye Birdie.”

  • Olivia Gerasole, 8
    At the ripe old age of 8, Olivia “Liv” Gerasole is the only single-digit James Beard Award-winner on the planet! In addition to her co-hosting duties on Spatulatta.com, Liv can play the piano, walk a tightrope and make an incredible fresh blueberry pie. Liv loves school and is a straight-A student in her second grade classroom in Evanston. When she’s not making her favorite snack (Berry Dip-N-Roll) you can find her perfecting her waltz jump at the local ice skating rink, or teaching her chihuahua Consuelo to “sit.”

Tastings of Fresh, Innovative Food
Food with an ethnic flair inspired by Chicago's neighborhoods will be prepared by students from two of the area's outstanding culinary schools and four participating high schools:

  • Kendall College: Vegetarian spring rolls
    The nationally acclaimed School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College has been cultivating exceptional culinary professionals since 1985. Kendall is committed to sustaining academic excellence in culinary education while helping students achieve their dreams. Kendall’s Bachelor and Associate degree programs are intensive, hands-on, and cutting-edge, designed to successfully launch a career in foodservice equipped with superb culinary skills and the equally critical business management and communication skills.

  • Washburne Culinary Institute: Gazpacho with shrimp
    Washburne Culinary Institute has served the Chicago Metropolitan Area for more than eight decades. Washburne’s mission is to offer affordable, high quality, competency-based education to develop skilled graduates of Certificate and Associate’s Degree programs prepared for immediate employment. Washburne offers a culturally and ethnically diverse learning environment that is responsive to the needs of students, staff and Chicago’s foodservice and hospitality industry.

Chicago Public Schools
The culinary programs at the Chicago Public Schools provide students who are interested in careers in food and hospitality with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to thrive in this growing field. Through a curriculum that combines academics with hands-on training, students develop a range of skills -- from cooking in a variety of styles to understanding the business side of the restaurant industry. Students representing culinary programs at the following high schools are preparing delicious tastings: