Festival «Taste of Chicago» – is the largest culinary festival in the Midwest, which takes place annually in July in Chicago (Illinois, USA). In 2023, it was postponed to September.
The tradition of holding the festival began in 1980. It was a one-day celebration of «Taste of Chicago» on US Independence Day, July 4, funded by the city government. Then 250 thousand people came to the gourmet festival. Since then, the festival has grown more and more every year, both territorially and in time.
Today «Taste of Chicago» – is a major and international event that attracts millions of lovers of delicious food. Festival participants – are representatives of the restaurant business of Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and other cities. Guests of the festival traditionally include not only Americans, but also numerous foreigners, because «The taste of Chicago» is considered one of the main tourist events in Illinois.
The festival takes place in Grant Park in downtown Chicago in the open air. The territory of the park is filled with bright tents and awnings, where all kinds of dishes are prepared and tasted. The choice of dishes presented at the festival is huge (and – from ethnic to exotic). Every day, more than 70 restaurants in the city offer their best dishes here, both original recipes and classic ones. And visitors can try all this variety of culinary delights located in one place.
Of course, festival guests, first of all, can get acquainted with American cuisine, and in particular with the menus of Chicago restaurants and cafes: curry, guacamole, tacos, Chicago pizza, Chicago hot dogs, Chicago barbecue, Ellis cheesecake, ice cream and various desserts. But the national cuisines of the peoples of the world are also widely represented here: Italian, Mexican, Irish, French, African, Chinese.
It would be a mistake to think that «Taste of Chicago» – is a fast food festival, although burgers and pizza – are the most popular dishes here, and mayonnaise and ketchup – are the best-selling sauces. For vegetarian gourmets, the celebration also has a large selection of vegetable and fruit specialties from the best chefs.
It has to be said that the restaurants presenting their menus at the festival are well aware of the benefits of participating in this event, therefore, in addition to preparing dishes, they also hold various chef master classes that show how to prepare Asian, European and American dishes and how to serve them.
But the festival program is not limited to tastings alone. In addition to food, many cultural events take place as part of the holiday. You can digest what you eat and burn calories right away by participating in various competitions or dancing to live music of different styles and trends. Many famous artists perform on the main stage of the park. Performers from past years include – Stevie Vander, Sheryl Crow, LL Cool J, Elvis Costello and many others.
There is also a place to have fun for children and their parents at the festival. The organizers are building an entire Family Village, where there is a lot of entertainment: games, competitions, songs and dances, carousels, attractions and cheerful clowns.
Festival «The taste of Chicago» is always full of fun and surprises for guests. The main thing to remember is that visiting it requires endurance and fortitude – because you will have to resist the temptation to try everything. Undoubtedly one thing – sad or hungry no one has left here yet!