Chicago Dish: EU serves up celebrity chefs to discuss advocacy and challenge

Elmhurst University held Chicago Dish: A Chefs Roundtable panel which featured celebrity chefs Rick Bayless, Stephanie Izard, and Beverly Kim in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel on Oct. 6.

The event was moderated by Monica Eng, a veteran reporter at Axios Chicago that specializes in food, health, and culture. 

To begin the evening, President Troy VanAken welcomed the audience to the event and announced this year’s cultural season theme, “The Legacy We Leave: Doing Well, Doing Good, Investing in the Future,” which highlights philanthropic impact and creating a culture of generosity and hope. 

Photo by- Emmy Shaffer

VanAken explained that these chefs have demonstrated this theme throughout their careers. 

Monica Eng, the moderator for the evenings panel, asked each of the chefs questions about their career, such as their philanthropy, what the restaurant business was like during the COVID-19 lockdown, and what inspires them professionally. 

Rick Bayless, known for winning Bravo’s Top Chef Masters and Chicago restaurants Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, created the Frontera Farmer Foundation. This foundation promotes small, sustainable farms serving the Chicagoland area, and Impact Culinary Training, which helps adults from the west side of Chicago get experience in the restaurant business. 

Stephanie Izard owns five restaurants in Chicago and was named Iron Chef in 2017 and Top Chef in 2008. Izard is board chair of Equality Should Be Normal, an anti-racism group that provides educational opportunities and assists people in need. 

Beverly Kim competed on Top Chef in 2011 and co-owns the Michelin-starred Parachute and Wherewithall restaurants in Chicago. 

Being one of the very few female chefs and owners, Kim created the nonprofit organization The Abundance Setting, which addresses gender inequality in the culinary field. 

In conjunction with the panel, EU sorority Phi Mu conducted a food drive to be donated to the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry. 

At the end of the lecture, audience members were able to ask the chefs questions and purchase a cookbook to have signed by the chefs.