In a West Loop restaurant circa 2013, three women — Molly Each, Liz Grossman, and Rachel Gillman Rischall started talking over dinner, and realized their favorite stories always circled back to food. Noting that the best tales were usually shared “between bites,” they recognized an opportunity to combine live storytelling, food personalities, and philanthropy.
Today Between Bites is a thriving nonprofit organization hosting quarterly events celebrating meaningful and memorable food stories, and featuring personal narratives from five or six local figures whose lives intersect with food: writers, chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, and restaurateurs.
Photo via Between Bites
More than 60 diverse storytellers have captivated audiences with their tales, from heartbreak in Florence, or self-discovery in a tiny Greek village, to a culinary epiphany at summer camp. This spring, Between Bites held a James Beard-inspired event, featuring a reader line-up of past nominees and winners.
Acclaimed Chef Erling Wu-Bower, a three-time James Beard finalist, former Chef de Cuisine at Nico Osteria, and Co-Executive Chef of the forthcoming Pacific Standard Time, explored the theme Spotlight/Shadows with a meditation on the staffing grind in the industry and his battle with imposter syndrome.
Photo via Between Bites
“Each and every day at 3 p.m., my cooks and I gather around in a circle for a pre-shift meeting, a little communal get-together before we dig in. I use pre-shift for hundreds of reasons: to review a bad night or celebrate a good night; to introduce new dishes, to talk technique, or to welcome new team members…the list goes on and on. Sometimes, pre-shifts are hilarious, and other times they’re quite serious, but most of the time they’re somewhere in between.
No matter the tone of the pre-shift, it seems the cooks are listening quite intently to me, absorbing my mood and my message, and processing the information I’m giving them. And each and every day during pre-shift, I ask myself the same question: Why the hell are these guys listening to me? I mean, I still have trouble doing my laundry, paying my bills, and getting to work on time. Why are they looking at me like I have anything valuable to say at all?”
Photo via Between Bites
Along with Wu-Bower’s personal tale, local celebs Chef Carrie Nahabedian and Chef Stephanie Izard revealed their journeys from toiling in the shadows to working in the spotlight.
A cornerstone of Between Bites is raising funds for local philanthropic organizations. A portion of proceeds from each event are donated to a charitable partner that’s chosen by the hosting restaurant. Past recipients include: The James Beard Foundation Scholarship Fund, Greater Chicago Food Depository, Un86’d, Kendall College Scholarship Fund, Chicago Lights Urban Farm, Tickled Pink for Bright Pink, Snow City Arts, The Chicago High School for the Arts, and The Trotter Project.
Photo via Between Bites
By Rachel Gillman Rischall
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