Chicago Gourmet back for fifth year

Sip, indulge and get a little education this weekend at the fifth annual Chicago Gourmet in Millennium Park.

Sponsored by Bon Appetit magazine, the event will feature more than 160 of Chicago’s chefs from eateries big and small. They’ll be doing cooking demos, giving talks and signing their cookbooks. Among the many chefs on board are Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill), Jimmy Bannos (Heaven on Seven), Amanda Downing (Rockit Bar & Grill), Sarah Grueneberg (Spiaggia), Armando Gonzales (Libertad), Sandra Holl (Floriole), Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan), Stephanie Izard (Girl & The Goat), Patricio Sandoval (Mercadito), Art Smith (Table Fifty-Two), Edgar Torres (Zocalo) and Takashi Yagihashi (Takashi).

There’ll be just about anything you’d like to nibble — Italian, French, seafood, vegetarian, sweets — at the tasting pavillions on the Great Lawn. New this year is the international beer pavilion, which will be next to what promises to be a lot of fun — the Purple Pig Pig Roast.

Jimmy Bannos Jr. and his crew join forces with Paramount Catering to have a mammoth big roast on Saturday and Sunday.

Glum because you have to stay away from gluten? Put a smile on that face! This year there will be a gluten-free pavilion with offerings from restaurants such as Piccolo Sogno, the Florentine and Alimentari.

The Grand Cru, which organizers describe as “grander” than last year, will offer tastings of more than 100 wines — chosen by the event’s Master Sommeliers. The weekend also features a number of seminars on wines and spirits.

Tickets are $159 (plus tax) for one day or $265 (plus tax) for a weekend pass. The event is from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon until 5 p.m. Sunday. (The Hamburger Hop — 6 to 9 p.m. Friday — is sold out.)

Visit www.chicagogourmet.org for more information.