Virtual Cooking Class with Chicago Chef Paul Kahan

Virtual Cooking Class with Chef Paul Kahan

Roasted Sockeye Salmon with Pepita Pesto
Charred Radicchio with Balsamic Vinegar
Roasted Delicata Squash with Honey and Lemon

Sitka Salmon Shares, an Alaskan direct-to-consumer seafood company, paired with Chef Paul Kahan, the two-time James Beard Award winner behind popular Chicagoland restaurants avec, The Publican, and Big Star for a Virtual Cooking Class featuring their wild Alaska sockeye salmon.

Guests received a meal kit for two shipped to their door plus a code to cook virtually alongside Paul, and Culinary Director Perry Hendrix. The cost was $149 plus shipping. There was a generous amount of product in the shipment, enough to feed four, making this a delightful gourmet experience a very reasonable cost per person. And it was especially neat to spend time with one of Chicago’s great gregarious chefs in his own kitchen.

Cooking Class Recipes

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HENRI Chicago

Henri Chicago
HENRI Chicago

We were a match made in restaurant heaven. Henri is…Elegant yet comfortable. Upscale yet unpretentious. American yet French. With service that is crisp, knowledgable, precise yet still engaging. Dishes that are innovative, exciting yet satisfying. In addition, the designers chose a sea green, chocolate, and white color palette, with chandeliers. Just like my blog design! A definite match.

chicago skyline
Chicago Skyline from Michigan Avenue at Monroe

American architect Louis Henri Sullivan (1856 – 1924) moved to Chicago in 1873 to take part in the building boom that took place after the Great Chicago Fire. Then he moved to Paris to study at the École des Beaux-Arts and later returned to Chicago where he became the famous architect known as “the father of the skyscraper” and a mentor to  young designers such as Frank Lloyd Wright.

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Where to Eat Next in Chicago: Balsan


Enjoy the luxurious two-star Michelin restaurant RIA in the fabulously chic Waldorf Astoria Chicago with one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs 2012 Danny Grant. Then go try Balsan – RIA’s hip casual-yet-sophisticated little sister, sharing the same kitchen.

Balsan’s rustic artisanal menu, crisp easy-going service, and a gregarious atmosphere for which Chicago is known make for a winning combination. Looking for a place to hang out when you attend the National Restaurant Association SHOW next month?
This is the place.

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One of Chicago’s Most Elegant: RIA

What are your three favorite dining towns?

Topping my list are…

  • Chicago
  • Las Vegas
  • Paris

…in order of where I happen to be visiting at the time, and were the next reservation will take us. I recently returned home from Chicago, experiencing nothing short of culinary nirvana.

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What is hip? Chicago’s Blackbird

amuse bouche, blackbird restaurant

What is hip?
Chicago’s Blackbird

chicago, blackbird restaurant

Come join my brother, sister-in-law and me for dinner
at one of Chicago’s hippest restaurants, Blackbird.
Established in 1997 it’s not new, but it is definitely cutting-edge.
Cuisine that has been described as “quietly revolutionary.”

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