Taste of the GFA was pretty as a picture
by Bob Benenson, FamilyFarmed
The 1st annual Taste of the GFA fundraiser and tasting event, held at 1871 Chicago on October 25, was a big success. More than 200 attendees were there to support FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator while enjoying samples from Accelerator Fellows’ companies and some of Chicago’s most innovative farm-to-table restaurants. The Accelerator team even had a surprise for the crowd, unveiling the lineup for the recently selected fifth cohort of entrepreneurs who, starting on November 5, will participate in the intensive six-month entrepreneur development program.
The event, produced by the Good Food Accelerator Associate Board and presented by Quarles & Brady and The Boston Consulting Group, ought to be in pictures, so we present this photo essay of featuring the Accelerator alumni and chefs who served up those delicious treats. Each of the chefs integrated ingredients made by Good Food Accelerator graduate companies into their recipes.
To learn more about Taste of the GFA and meet the program’s 10 new Fellows, please read the Good Food News article, headlined “New Accelerator Cohort Adds Spice to Taste of the GFA,” published October 26.
Chef Guy Meikle of Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar presented Old 1871 oysters from Virginia with a gel made from beet/apple/ginger juice from Here, a mignonette sauce made with Karma Kombucha and Bulls Blood microgreens from Living Water Farms. All three companies are graduates of FamilyFarmed’s Good Food Accelerator. Photo: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
The wife-and-husband team of Lauren Freeburg and Kevin Quinn represented Lula Café.
Chefs Won Kim and Anthony Baier of Kimski.
Won Kim and Anthony Baier of Kimski, the Korean-Polish restaurant in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, produced a rich take on a traditional Polish bigos stew that included sauerkraut from Cultured Love, a Good Food Accelerator graduate. Read more about Won Kim and Kimski in this Good Food news profile. Photo: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
Stephanie Andrews, bar manager at Billy Sunday restaurant, served a punch made with sparkling fruit tonic from Fruitbelt, a Good Food Accelerator graduate, and Aronia liqueur from Apologue. Photo: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
Tempo Tea.
Fillo’s Beans.
The Cider Farm.
Good Food Accelerator graduates who participated in the Taste of the GFA event included Tempo (top), which showed off the new, beautifully designed cans for its sparkling unsweetened tea products; Fillo’s Sofrito Beans; The Cider Farm, which sampled several varieties of its organic hard ciders made from heirloom apples; and The Farinata Project, which featured the pizzas it recently added to its line of chickpea-flour flatbreads. Photos: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
Members of the Good Food Accelerator Associate Board, which produced the Taste of the GFA event, announced the winners of a raffle who received 10-pound chocolate bars donated by Blommer Chocolate Company. Photo: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
FamilyFarmed’s CEO Jim Slama.
FamilyFarmed’s CEO Jim Slama speaking to guests.
Entrepreneurial Programs Director Rebecca Frabizio.
FamilyFarmed was represented by CEO Jim Slama (top two photos), Entrepreneurial Programs Director Rebecca Frabizio and Programs Coordinator Chelsea Callahan Huson at the ceremony at which the Good Food Accelerator’s fifth cohort was revealed. Photos: Bob Benenson/FamilyFarmed
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