Our Locally Made Fundraising Dinner Was a Hit
Naturally Chicago’s dinner, held Aug. 16 at Cultivate at Forbidden Root, was a grand slam: great food, great house-brewed craft beer, great conversations, all for a great cause.
The event was held to raise funds for our new Locally Made program, which is designed to better connect local natural CPG brands with retailers seeking to meet rising consumer demand for local products.
“Locally Made is something we’re really excited about,” said Naturally Chicago Managing Director Jim Slama (photo above). “We’re bringing lots of new brands to awesome retailers, and we’re also going to help them with mentoring and helping them grow their businesses.”
It also was a celebration of Fresh Thyme Market as the first retail partner in Locally Made’s Retail Access Program.
We were honored to have Rebecca Stephens, Fresh Thyme’s Local Program Manager, as our dinner guest.
“In our Local program, we try to lead from a grass-roots-up perspective…,” Stephens said. “What we’ve done at Fresh Thyme is really empower our store teams to be what I call our scouts for local… What’s exciting about these kinds of partnerships is we can gather larger groups of local brands that are ready for retail.”
She continued, “ Naturaly Chicago is a great resource for those brands to help them get ready for retail.”
Will Madden (above), Naturally Chicago’s Board Chairman and co-founder of Whole Brain Consulting, also made welcoming remarks.
And, naturally, a dinner pivoting on local products had to have a meal that included delicious locally produced ingredients and craft beer. Cultivate, located on Malt Row on Chicago’s North Side, delivered big on both accounts.
Here is the menu created by Chef Peter Beatty, with each food course as delicious as the last. Local vendors are highlighted and all beer pairings are by Forbidden Root.
Mapo Tofu (Jenny’s Tofu, Chicago)
Sourdough Tartine: sourdough from Publican Quality Bread (Chicago), heirloom tomatoes from Nichols Farm and Orchard (Marengo, Illinois); Stracciatella cheese from Famiglia Andreotti (Monee, Illinois), shallot, pine nuts — paried with Purple Pils Bohemian Pilsner
Hearth Roasted Carrots: Fire roasted Nichols Farm and Orchard carrots, green chickpea, carrot top pesto, forbidden rice — paired with Orange Julius Double Single.
Pork Ribs: Pork from 99 Counties (Chicago and Keystone, Iowa), Pepper Bacon Sausage from Big Fork Brands (Chicago), grilled apricot from Seedling Fruit (South Haven, Michigan), Apricot Chamoy, Chicharrone, Herb Salad — paried with Ginger Me Timbers Golden Ale.
Lumache: Lumache Pasta from Flour Power (Chicago), Heirloom Tomato from Nichols Farm and Orchard; Chestnut Mushrooms from 4 Star Mushrooms (Chicago), Parmesan Frico — paired with Walking Distance Farmhouse Ale.
Donut Holes: Peach Glaze from Seedling Fruit peaches, Lemon Mascarpone, Poppy Seed — paired with Peach Wit
Naturally Chicago thanks the Forbidden Root team for the first-class meal and hospitality.