Cooking expo at Harper pleases thousands of palates

The chance to sample gourmet foods and wine pairings drew a steady crowd to the opening night of the Great American Cooking Expo at Harper College in Palatine.

Patrons lined up even before the doors opened, with more than 300 coming through in the first 15 minutes, and nearly 700 in the first two hours. Most appeared to have the same objectives: to sample as much as they could and glean new cooking ideas.

The expo continues from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday. Tickets are $35 or $25 in advance. Visit www.thecookingexpo.com.

"It's the variety," said Maribeth Westlund of Streamwood, who came with two friends. "It's a nice opportunity to get to taste a lot of different things from right here in your community."

Friday night was dubbed "date-night," and it drew many couples who made an evening of it.

But sisters Kelly Landmeier of McHenry, Erin Scannell of Carpentersville and Tracy Hollendonner of Darien came to celebrate a birthday. Right from their first stop, when they sampled the merlot and raspberry beer cheese, offered by Sartori, they were hooked.

"There's so many different things to try," Landmeier said.

Lines formed for the bruschetta served up by Maggiano's Little Italy in Schaumburg, as well as the pulled pork sandwiches from Sweet Baby Ray's in Elk Grove Village and Wood Dale and the smoked sirloin sandwich from A Private Affair caterers.

Dan and Carol Green of Arlington Heights raved about the wild game chili offered by the chefs from Birch Street Grill. They even could recite its exotic ingredients, including bison sirloin, boar's meat, andouille sausage and rattlesnake beans.

"I never would have tried it if I knew what was in it," Carol Green conceded, "but it was really, really good."

Wine and beer distributors were a popular stop. The WineStyles aisle alone offered them the chance to meet 17 wine vendors, representing as many as 150 different types of wine. Likewise, the different breweries offered samples of their seasonal ales.

Co-workers Pam Urso of Rolling Meadows and Melissa Cook of Elk Grove Village enjoyed the first wine they tried, a semisweet red from Germany, bottled by Dornfelder, and presented by Midwest Wine Consultants of Volo.

"It's fun sampling all of these different foods and wines from local companies," Cook said.

Every seat was filled at the cooking demonstrations

Chef Christopher Green of the Viking Cooking School and Culinary Shop in Glenview drew a full audience with his fondue demonstration, before Rick Petrocelly of the Olive Tap prepared an appetizer and side dish, leading up to the main entree of pork tenderloin with pomegranate balsamic reduction sauce.

Saturday's lineup of chefs and demonstrations includes lessons in Asian and Italian cuisine, while Sunday has a more regional focus.

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