Eat My City! Culinary Destinations: Chicago

We will be exploring culinary destinations each month. So, get your appetites and traveling shoes ready! First stop - Chicago, IL.

Starting things off is Teresa Johnson of GottiTravel sharing tips for the best locations & rates in town!

Then my special guest, Matt Nielsen, COO and third-generation co-owner of Nielsen-Massey Vanilla, the finest extract producers in the country. Since 1907, the family owned company – now in its third generation – has been making flavorings in the purest, most natural way in a Chicago suburb.

Craig, Matt and Beth Nielsen are following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather by using a proprietary, cold extraction process that gently extracts the complex flavor components (more than 300!) from the vanilla beans and then preserves them in jewel-like bottles to be sold for flavoring dishes from delicate pastries to sauces for lobster.

Cookbook author, Gale Gand, host of the Food Network “Sweet Dreams” and executive Pastry chef/partner at Tru Restaurant, says, “When I need to know anything about vanilla, I run to the Nielsen family.”

Craig, Matt and Beth take pride in the Pure Vanillas products they produce, as well as their discriminating customers who appreciate the quality, flavor and varied functionality. The United States consumption of vanilla beans is approximately 1,400 tons per year.

A favorite of kings and queens, the Nielsen’s can share with your listeners the romance behind the bean.

Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas Cookbook Author, Craig Priebe will join us to discuss his career as a chef for the Crowne family in Chicago and we'll be giving away a copy of his book! You don't want to miss it!