Heritage Prairie Farm's Harvest Dinner

On Sunday a group of Lettuce Entertain You chefs spent the day cooking at Heritage Prairie Farms to benefit Family Farmed efforts to bring locally produced foods into Chicago public schools.  We served over 200 guests with cocktails in the garden followed by dinner under the tent. The harvest menu featured locally raised fruits, vegetables, meats and chicken from various farms used by our restaurants throughout the year.

John Chiakulis, Chef and Partner with the newly remodeled Mity Nice Grill & foodlife, prepared appetizers.  Locally grown butternut squash, apples from Giesel farms, Slagel Family Farms bacon, and Dietzeler Farms beef were used liberally throughout John’s bite sized appetizers and soup. My favorite was the small bite of late season corn made into a corn pudding with bacon and herbs-it was delicious.

Chef/Partner David Digregorio, Osteria Via Stato, cooked side dishes.  Fall is a good time to enjoy greens, beets, and squash as the cooler temperatures make them naturally sweet. David did a great job preparing Tuscan kale braised with Slagel Farms guanciale (cured pig jowls), roasted butternut squash, Yukon gold potato puree, and large plates of roasted red and gold beets with Heritage Farms micro-greens.

The Big Bowl team (five chefs plus a team from the front of house!), took the responsibility for the entrée course.  We choose to prepare Becker Lane Organic Farms whole roasted Berkshire hog and Walter Moser Organic Farms whole chickens.  Jude Becker raises the best pork I have ever tasted.  The whole pig takes three days to prepare before it’s ready for the roaster.  It’s packed in seasoned salt for a day followed by a coating of sugar the next day.  Steaming the pig before roasting in The Caja China (you have to check out this link) makes the skin crispy and delicious. The chickens were rubbed with a bit of dark soy and sesame oil before a sprinkle of the same seasoned salt we used on the pork. Grilled over natural wood coals, the chickens were tender and juicy with crisp skin. To accompany the roasted meats we served homemade hoisin bbq sauce and pickles made with Heritage Farms Hakurai turnips, fennel, carrot, and honey crisp apple. Delicious raw, Hakurai turnips are only available for a short period and should not be missed.

After the customary speeches and introductions, Chefs Susan Weaver and Michel Briand, partners with Mon Ami Gabi and Café Ba Ba Reeba, wowed us with their parade of fine desserts.  Tarte tatin, pumpkin bread, Michel’s flourless chocolate brownies, and pear upside down cake were all great but my absolute favorite was a butterscotch pudding made with organic butternut squash.  Desserts were served with local whipped cream sweetened with a bit of Bron’s Honey produced on the Heritage Prairie Farm. 

We arrived at the farm at ten in the morning and didn’t get home until after ten at night.  Despite the long day, all the hard work leading up to the event and the last minute cooking and serving, it was a fulfilling day for all of us.  I loved spending the day on the farm talking about and eating good food throughout the day. The event raised $15,000 toward Family Farmed efforts to get locally grown fruits and vegetables into Chicago public schools.  Visit the Family Farmed website to learn more about contributing.  You can visit Heritage Farms store on the farm for locally grown produce and goods or at the Green City Market on Wednesday and Saturday in Lincoln Park.  Check out the Lettuce Entertain You website for additional information about the participating chefs and their restaurants.

Click here to see a montage of photos from the event.