Baconfest Chicago 2010

Hello my friends!

I want to be the first to invite your participation in Baconfest Chicago - a celebration of all things bacon that I'm working on with some bacon-loving theater friends. We're planning a bacon-extravaganza with artisanal bacon purveyors selling their wares, chefs presenting bacony snacks, a bacon cook-off, bacon costumes, contests for bacon-based visual art, bacon liquors and bacony beer plus bacon bands at night. Date and venue are still to be decided - our plan is to schedule the event for the end of October.

You may say - this bacon business is a flash-in-the-pan overhyped internet phenomenon. Why, even the MSM NYT has long-form articles about bacon-obsessed nerds. Bacon is played out.

I disagree! Bacon on the internet may be on the way out, but bacon in real-life is just getting started. We are hoping to build a community on high-quality bacon and creative bacon-based interactions.

So - LTHers: check out the Baconfest website: http://baconfestchicago.com.
Peep the Baconfest facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=74055287213.
Follow our twitter feed @baconfestchi.

We're still building up our plans - we need a bacon-venue, we're entertaining options for different bacon vendors and looking for professional chefs and bacon home-cooks interested in participating. We'd love to have some family bacon events - Purple Asparagus, I'm looking at you!

I'd be grateful for any suggestions you have of leads to track down (local pig-farms, chicago bacon curiosities, chefs with a proven way with bacon), ideas for contests, devastating critiques, constructive suggestions and slash and burn recriminations. Here's your chance to create a Baconfest that you can love (or hate!).

Love,

Seth and the baconfest team (Andre and Mike).

Will the Bacon Brothers be playing?

We've discussed it - but not with them. So, I'm going to go with ... maybe.

we should talk . . .. because I love bacon and also work out of the Cultural Center (and there's the new-ish Downtown Farm Stand which is looking for demo ideas). Are you looking for a location to host baconfest?

bjt

But I'm hoping not the very last weekend in October, as I'm in charge of my own big event that weekend, and I'd hate to miss all the bacony goodness -- as would many others I know who will be occupied that weekend -- not to mention all the folks with kids who'd need to be home with trick-or-treaters.

We're tipping earlier in October rather than later. I will advise when date and venue are finalized.

Seth

Friends! I'm happy to report that we have put down a deposit on a venue -- the inaugural Baconfest Chicago will be at the Stan Mansion in Logan Square on October 25, 2009. Stay tuned for more details. We're getting very excited over here at BFC HQ.

Seth

Hey Friends! Just a quick note to let you know that we've done a total redesign of Baconfestchicago.com. Hope you like it!

You can also follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/baconfestchi or learn more at our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/baconfest.

Things are beginning to heat up!

Seth

I am spreading the word of Bacon-y goodness far and wide. I even have a friend from Balitmore ready to wing her way in JUST for the occasion.

Awesome - thank you!!!

Seth,

Hungarians love and embrace bacon in any form. They are particularly fond of Hungarian style slab bacon with the rind on which is served in a variety of ways and often cut in a crown motif, which holds it shape when frying.

Hot boiled noodles, which have cottage cheese folded into them in the last minute, with crunchy fried Hungarian slab bacon and warm rendered fat poured over them. Or Hungarian slab bacon roasted over a campfire, that is heated slowly and the drippings lovely drizzled on bread and eaten with a nice slice of onion and a thin slice of the bacon and their beloved peppers as garnish or Hungarian-style scrambled eggs. Or just a la natural like popcorn.

I have marked my calendar.

Silver Spoon.

Hello friends,

Just posted an announcement about the Baconfest schedule to our website:

In the months since the initial announcement of this most bacon-licious of festivals, Baconfest Chicago has grown steadily into a cultural and culinary behemoth. Fantastic sponsors, restaurants and vendors have all come on board in support of our dream of creating a bacon wonderland. Thousands of people from all over the world have signed up for our Twitter feed, Facebook fan page and email updates.

Although we have raised a significant amount of pledged monetary and in-kind sponsorship support, we have not been able to meet the financial goals that would make it possible to produce the event on the original time-line. We do NOT want to compromise the ideals behind the inspiration for Baconfest Chicago based on financial and technical limitations. We do not want to rush to host an event that is anything less than spectacular.

So, rather than produced a compromised event, we’ve decided to give ourselves more time - time to marshall an even broader support base in order to make Baconfest Chicago all we know it can be.

Baconfest Chicago will now take place on April 10, 2010 - stay tuned for more details.

The Baconfest VIP Bacon Cookoff will still happen on October 24th at the Publican. This will still serve as an introductory event designed to get the buzz out about Baconfest's Spring debut. And it will be amazing.

We’re excited about the new possibilities of our extended schedule and happy about the chance to do it right the first time. Thanks to all who have supported us so far, and looking forward to meeting you all at Baconfest in April!

Best,
The Baconfest Triumvirate

Thanks for the update Seth. Good luck. I've moved the date on my Local Calender.

HI,

I am looking forward to BaconFest!

I commiserate on postponing until your ducks line up right. I have had to do it myself a couple of times. You will be freed up to enjoy Zupeter and can sleep easier at night.

Regards,

Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate the support.

Fundraising idea: Bacon bake sale.

Today (September 5, 2009) is International Bacon Day. Who knew?

Ms. Ingie wrote:Today (September 5, 2009) is International Bacon Day. Who knew?

Let's celebrate with a bagful of maple bacon bars from Voodoo Doughnuts.

Voodoo in Portland?

Jazzfood wrote:Voodoo in Portland?

Yup, the one on SW 3rd, right down the street from Stumptown Coffee.

If you're out there, i hope you've checked out extramsg's kenny and zukes definitive deli. say hi to nick for me. also, beware of biwa. hard to stop going.

Hi there!

Today, we’ve put tickets on sale for the Pro Bacon Cook-off at The Publican. This is our Baconfest preview event, where ten tasty chefs will prepare ten tasty bacon dishes for your delectation. Paul Kahan and his staff will match each dish up with its beer soul-mate.

The most spectacular bacon-dish will be selected by our panel of judges to win THE GOLDEN RASHER, for best use of bacon by a culinary professional.

The Cookoff is October 24 from noon to 2:00 PM at the Publican.

Tickets cost $75.00 plus a small fee from EventBrite.

Here's the ticketing site: http://baconfestcookoff.eventbrite.com

Space is extremely limited!

Bacon Chefs:
In alphabetical order:

Troy Graves - Eve

http://www.evechicago.com/

Rick Gresh - David Burke's Primehouse
http://www.jameshotels.com/Chicago-Hote ... Primehouse

Gilbert Langlois - Chalkboard Restaurant
http://www.chalkboardrestaurant.com/

John Manion - Goose Island Clybourn Brewpub
http://www.gooseisland.com/pages/clybou ... pub/65.php


Michael McDonald - one sixtyblue

http://www.onesixtyblue.com/

Chris Pandel - The Bristol

http://www.thebristolchicago.com/

Jason Paskewitz - Gemini Bistro

http://geminibistrochicago.com/

Nathan Sears – Vie
http://www.vierestaurant.com/

Patrick Sheerin - The Signature Room

http://www.signatureroom.com/

Giuseppe Tentori - Boka
http://www.bokachicago.com/

Big props go to our sponsors for this event –
The Publican Restaurant
Yelp.com
Fig Catering
Snarkity
Prescient Media.

thanks!

Seth

Seth,

This souds like a great event. I regret that I'll be in Savannah on the 24th, so I'm going to have to miss it.

Thanks Steve. Sorry we'll miss you!

Seth

that is a seriously awesome lineup of chefs.

Thank you! We're really excited!

Is anyone going to be at the VIP Cookoff tomorrow? I'll be running around dropping bacon pecan brittle in the swag bags. I was hoping to see a few LTHers.

Baconfest,

Amazing event, all the more so as it was the first of hopefully many, Swiss watch comes to mind.

Fun, delicious for all involved, even the organizers seemed to have fun, and the chefs, an amazing lineup by the way, took the event very (very) seriously.

I was honored to be a judge, along with Mike Sula, Louisa Chu and Chuck Sudo and left full, happy and very impressed with the level and attention to detail involved in the event.

The Pro Bacon Cook-off at The Publican was a stunning success, I am very much looking forward to April.

Congrats to Baconfest on all the good press!

Reader

Chicagoist

Tribune

Enjoy,
Gary

Thank you! It was great to see some LTHers there: you, Ronnie and fam, Molly Fig. We're tickled by the response and excited to reach a broader audience in April.

Also - we got a nice writeup on Serious Eats.

I'm sad this got moved, and I was still on my honeymoon on Saturday. Had been planning on coming back to Chicago and hitting it first thing on Sunday. Oh well. I'll see you in April!