Bayless’s Farm to Table History Inspires Everything Local
Callicrate note: Every community should have a Rick Bayless
Creator of the Frontera restaurant empire presented keynote to remember.
Jan 18, 2024
Frontera and Center
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Chicago Chef Rick Bayless stressed the importance of farmer-restaurant partnerships on the opening day of the three-day Everything Local Conference in Springfield. Photo by Bob Benenson.
I was in familiar territory as I listened to Chef Rick Bayless at the January 17 opening session of the Everything Local Conference, in conversation with Rita Frazer, director of audio services at the rural-focused RFD Radio Network.
I’ve had the honor of getting to know Rick several years ago during my work with the non-profit formerly known as FamilyFarmed, and was part of the team that in 2017 produced the event — marking the anniversary of Frontera Grill opening 30 years earlier — that raised funds for that organization and Frontera Farmer Foundation. I am an admirer of his work to build today’s expansive local food ecosystem in the Chicago region, without which my second career as a Good Food advocate and publisher would never have happened.
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