The Chicago Way: An Oral History of Chicago Dining

The comprehensive story of how Chicago became one of the world's top dining cities, told by the chefs and food professionals who made it happen over the past 50 years.

For more than 30 years Chicago has been recognized as one of the most exciting dining cities in the world. Michelin knows this well--for many years, they made Chicago one of only three parts of the U.S. in which they award stars. But the story of how this happened--the story of nationally famed chefs like Rick Bayless, Charlie Trotter, Grant Achatz, Graham Elliot Bowles, Stephanie Izard, and others--has never been told in a comprehensive way.

The Chicago Way explores Chicago's evolution as a dining capital over the past 50-plus years, through an oral history made up of the voices of those who led and participated in that evolution. Readers will learn how the city's diners (and visitors) grew to love new and more adventurous ways of eating, from hot dogs with foie gras to molecular gastronomy, and how restaurants transformed the city's culture, creating hot new neighborhoods (and then getting priced out of them) and becoming a driver of economic growth.

This is a lively telling of the often wild and crazy restaurant world, charged with the voices of the men and women who helped make Chicago's food culture what it is today. With a focus on real estate and economics as well as food and creativity, these insider accounts, taken together, tell a story about the influence of Chicago chefs on modern American cuisine that should appeal to everyone interested in food, restaurants, and dining.

Michael Gebert, James Beard Award-winning food writer and video producer, has written for decades about hundreds of Chicago food figures of all kinds. He has covered Chicago's food scene in depth for nearly two decades, and in The Chicago Way, he includes interview contributions from national celebrities such as Top Chef winners Stephanie Izard and Joe Flamm, Alinea chef Grant Achatz, and Michelin-starred chef and author Lane Regan, among scores of other notables. His vast network and deep knowledge are reflected in the array of important chefs and food professionals whose voices are included here, arrayed into a narrative mosaic that brings this fascinating and important story to life.