Culinary Historians of Chicago & Chicago Foodways Roundtable

Presented by Chef Carrie Nahabedian By Scott Warner, President, Culinary Historians of Chicago: It’s not too often that a James Beard Award-winning chef stops me on the street and says she’d like to speak to the Culinary Historians of Chicago. But that’s what happened when I was walking near Carrie Nahabedian’s acclaimed River North eatery Naha; the famed chef and I spotted each other and stopped to chat. Carrie, who had delivered a poignant talk to our group years before on her Armenian food background, told me she had another subject that she was passionate about: Chicago’s restaurant history. She said she’d been collecting books and articles on the subject for years, and wanted to share her story. What a tasty offer! We gladly booked her. Please join us as Carrie presents a cornucopia of Chicago food tidbits covering: · The history and evolution of Chicago’s restaurants. · The French influence and the proliferation of exceptional chefs. · Chicago’s luxury hotels and how they influenced the culinary scene in our city and abroad. Biography: Growing up in Chicago, Carrie says she was most influenced in her cooking by her mother, and also by Julia Child. She later described watching Child as "like watching an artist painting". Carrie started her culinary career with a three-year apprenticeship at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago. She then moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to become assistant chef to the garde manger at the Resorts Casino Hotel when it first opened. She moved back to Chicago to work at Le Perroquet before moving on to a variety of restaurants in Europe. Carrie returned to the United States where she became the first woman to work at Chicago's Le Francais. In 1989, Carrie became sous chef at the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, and was soon promoted to executive chef. She stayed within the Four Seasons Hotels chain, eventually moving California to ultimately become executive chef at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, Carrie returned to Chicago in 2000 to open NAHA ultimately winning a James Beard Award and seven consecutive Michelin stars. Mayor Richard M. Daley named September 22, 2009 in honor of Carrie, the same day that she was inducted into the Chicago Culinary Museum's Chefs Hall of Fame. Carrie opened Brindille in 2013 along with partner and cousin Michael Nahabedian; while NAHA served to highlight her Armenian roots, Brindille's refined Parisian fare celebrates hers and Michael's favorite spots in Paris. Cost of the lecture program is $5, $3 for students and no charge for CHC members, faculty and students of Kendall college, and Weiss staff and faculty. To reserve, please e-mail your reservation: [masked] FREE PARKING: USE OPEN LOT ON SOUTH SIDE OF HOSPITAL (Signs will say “Permit Parking” and “Doctor’s Lot” but it’s OKAY for YOU to use on this Saturday!) FREE STREET PARKING ALSO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: CTA BUS #146 STOPS DIRECTLY IN FRONT