The Taste of Chicago (also known locally as The Taste) is the world's largest
food festival
A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season.
History
Food ...
, held for five days in July in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
in
Grant Park. The event is also the largest festival in Chicago. Non-food-related events include live music on multiple stages, including the
Petrillo Music Shell
The Petrillo Music Shell (sometimes referred to as the Petrillo Bandshell or formally as the James C. Petrillo Music Shell) is an outdoor amphitheater in Grant Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United Stat ...
, pavilions, and performances. Musical acts vary from nationally known artists like
Carlos Santana,
Moby,
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...
, or
Robert Plant to name just a few, to local artists. Since 2008, The Chicago Country Music Festival was held simultaneously with the Taste of Chicago but now has its own two-day festival, typically held in the fall. The Taste of Chicago also has rides present which may include a
Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...
and the ''Jump to Be Fit'' among others.
History
Arnie Morton
Arnold Morton (1922 – May 28, 2005) was a restaurateur who founded Morton's Restaurant Group/Morton's Steakhouse.
Early life
Arnie Morton was born in Chicago, the son of Mort and Isabel Morton. He grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood on th ...
, creator of the Taste, decided to line up Chicago restaurants to participate and persuaded then-Chicago mayor
Jane Byrne
Jane Margaret Byrne (née Burke; May 24, 1933November 14, 2014) was an American politician who was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States. She served as the 50th Mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979, until April ...
and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs
Lois Weisberg
Lois Weisberg (May 6, 1925 – January 13, 2016) was the first Commissioner of Cultural Affairs for the City of Chicago, from 1989 until January 2011.
She was profiled by writer Malcolm Gladwell in a 1999 ''New Yorker'' essay, "Six Degrees of Lois ...
to block off
Michigan Avenue for the first Taste of Chicago on July 4, 1980. Although organizers expected 100,000 people, a crowd of over 250,000 showed up, with food and soda sales grossing $300,000 at the festival's inception. The next year, the Taste of Chicago was moved to Grant Park and grew in size and scope, becoming a 10-day event with more food vendors and musical performers; it also became the world's largest food festival.
ChicagoFest
ChicagoFest was a Chicago music festival established in 1978 by Mayor Michael Bilandic. It was a two-week event held annually at Navy Pier that featured sixteen separate stages, each sponsored by a national retail brand and a media sponsor comp ...
, started by mayor
Michael Bilandic, was the precursor to the Taste of Chicago. After Bilandic's tenure in office, newly elected Mayor
Jane Byrne
Jane Margaret Byrne (née Burke; May 24, 1933November 14, 2014) was an American politician who was the first woman to be elected mayor of a major city in the United States. She served as the 50th Mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979, until April ...
attempted to end the festival as well as many other programs associated with the former mayor. Many Chicagoans disapproved of Mayor Byrne's attempt to stop the festivities (although attendance at ChicagoFest had begun to wane). She and her successor, Mayor
Harold Washington
Harold Lee Washington (April 15, 1922 – November 25, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician who was the 51st Mayor of Chicago. Washington became the first African American to be elected as the city's mayor in April 1983. He served as may ...
, dedicated more time and energy to promoting the Taste, slowly phasing ChicagoFest out in the process. Mayor Washington finally put an end to ChicagoFest when in 1983 it was moved from
Navy Pier
Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family ...
to
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...
and attendance continued to wane. The popularity of the Taste of Chicago has prompted other cities to spawn numerous offshoots and equivalents throughout North America such as the Taste of
Champaign
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...
,
CityFest in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
, the
Taste of the Danforth in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, the Taste of
Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...
, Taste of Addison, Taste of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, Taste in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Taste of
Madison, Taste of
Austin, the Taste of Peoria in
Peoria, Illinois, and the Bite in
Portland to name a few. The first "taste of" festival was
Taste of Cincinnati in 1979.
In 2005, the Taste attracted about 3.9 million people with over 70
food vendors. Foods at the event include
Chicago-style pizza
Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several different styles developed in Chicago, widely referred to simply as deep dish pizza due to its cooking style. The pan in which it is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edg ...
,
Chicago hot dogs,
barbecued ribs,
Italian Beef
An Italian beef sandwich, originating in Chicago, is composed of thin slices of seasoned roast beef, simmered and served on a long French roll. The sandwich's history dates back at least to the 1930s. The bread itself is, at the diner's prefer ...
,
Maxwell Street Polish Sausage
A Maxwell Street Polish consists of a grilled or fried length of Polish sausage topped with grilled onions and yellow mustard and optional pickled whole, green sport peppers, served on a bun. The sandwich traces its origins to Chicago's Maxwe ...
,
Eli's Cheesecake, and a variety of ethnic and regional foods. A total of 3.6 million people visited the 2006 Taste of Chicago. Attendance for the previous record 10-day event, in 2004, was 3.59 million, with $12.33 million in revenue. These lackluster statistics prompted several changes. The mayor transferred power over the event from the Chicago Park District to the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and the event was shortened to 5 days. In 2012, the Taste of Chicago ran from July 11 to July 15 and had 36 participating restaurants. In 2013, the Taste of Chicago turned a profit for the first time in six years with sales totaling $272,000. On Saturday, July 12, 2014, the Taste of Chicago closed because of severe weather—the first time the festival was canceled for the entire day because of "excessive rainfall and flooding on the festival grounds".
In June 2020, the event was one of several Chicago events officially cancelled due to the
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
pandemic; it was replaced by "Taste of Chicago To-Go" programming that included an online directory of vendors, video cooking demonstrations and performances, a food truck procession, and an expansion of the existing Community Eats program that brings free meals to first responders.
2007 salmonella outbreak
On July 12, 2007, city officials reported that an outbreak beginning in the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth caused 17 people to fall ill due to
Salmonella poisoning. Of those affected, three were hospitalized, including one minor. City officials started to receive reports of sickness on Monday but waited to issue a notice until Wednesday. The notice warned the public about symptoms and causes behind the bacteria that is spread by consuming foods contaminated with animal feces. After a thorough investigation of the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth, it was determined that the cucumber, hummus, and pomegranate chicken were the source of the illness. The booth failed a previous routine inspection for serving undercooked dishes but city officials did not file the report until Wednesday. City health inspectors found several violations at the restaurant including unsanitary conditions, improper refrigeration, and mouse droppings.
List of musical performers
The festival hosts a wide variety of performers.
References
External links
Taste of Chicago
{{Grant Park
Cuisine of Chicago
Music festivals in Chicago
Food and drink festivals in the United States