Oh, what a night!

On February 3rd, 900 culinary professionals, patrons, and enthusiasts alike gathered at the 20th Annual Grand Chefs Gala benefitting the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It was a gala full of amazing food, live music, and some celebrity chefs that certainly made you do a doubletake.

The Navy Pier Grand Ballroom was the venue for this festivities and let me tell you, what a venue! Who knew Navy Pier was more than kitschy kiosks and a Ferris wheel? The Grand Ballroom is all the way at the end of the pier, and boasts an enormous dome ceiling and windows allow you to take in the Chicago skyline and lake.

Once the seated dinner was concluded, the fun began! Guests were ushered upstairs to the second floor of the Grand Ballroom for the evening “Nitecap”. The Nitecap included 20 pastry chefs, mixologists, and chefs debuting some of their latest cocktail confections and delicious bites.

Bouncing from table to table, tasting each restaurant and chef’s concoction was the best part. Each chef was so creative in the execution of the bite and having a paired cocktail with each treat was a fun bonus. We tried everything from oxtail, to Hawaiian style poke, to pieces of pie and cookies; there wasn’t a single table left untouched by us! The Nitecap hit the sweet spot and capped off the night perfectly.

It was a fantastic evening, and knowing that $670,000 was raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation made it all the better.