Food + Beverage

Farm to Fork

Article by Nicole Swanberg Wright | Photography by Chris Moran and Kenadee Berry There is something different about a meal when you know where it began. When the tomatoes were growing in the garden just steps away. When the farmer who raised the ingredients is sitting nearby. When the menu changes because of rain, heat, harvest timing—or simply because the land had something unexpected to offer. Across the Chicagoland area, farm-to-table dining is becoming about much more than a locally...

Food + Beverage

A Recipe for Opportunity:

Inside Coletta's Crossing Bakery Article and Photography by Kenadee Berry For more than 75 years, St. Coletta's of Illinois has been creating vocational opportunities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Today, that mission is taking shape in a welcoming place where the aroma of freshly baked cookies fills the air: Coletta's Crossing Bakery.  The bakery is more than a place to learn how to bake. It is a real workplace where individuals gain practical job skills...

Entertainment

Gather Around the Table:

Where Good Design Meets Good Memories Article by Nicole Swanberg Wright | Photography by Jean Lachat For Diane DeCero, a beautiful table is about much more than linens, dinnerware and a well-chosen centerpiece. It’s about the memories made around it. Growing up in an Italian household, Diane remembers the kitchen table as the center of family life: a place filled with good food, laughter and several conversations happening at once. Her mother often said, “If that table could talk, oh, what...

Food + Beverage

More Than a Farmstand

Article by Nicole Swanberg Wright On a busy weekend at Kakadoodle, the Farm Market can feel a little less like a grocery store and a lot more like a gathering place. There might be a line out the door, children watching the chickens, families stopping to admire eggs that were just laid, and neighbors striking up conversations as they shop. It’s lively, a little unexpected and exactly the kind of experience Marty and his wife never set out to create. In fact, the Farm Market started as an...