Two Chicago food CEO's

With Brenda Barnes in the CEO spot at Sara Lee and Irene Rosenberg now running Kraft, Chicago boasts two respected women CEO's in the food world. Kraft has added a health and wellness program and limited food marketing to children, Sara Lee will be bringing out lots of new products next year.

They probably both love to shop at Target--which also represents their worst nightmare. It has brought its impeccable nose for trends into the exploding world of store brands. Witness the cover of today's circular --Archer Farm's brand BLUE Corn Tortilla Chips, Spinach and Artichokes Purses, High Protein Cinnamon Cereal.

Whatever can Mac & Cheese or Pound Cake do to keep up?

Raw Chocolate?

Jessica Turano tells me that raw chocolate is big in Europe and full of healthy properties. You can't find it here in Chicago unless you're her friend. She makes it herself with secret ambrosial ingredients.

Sepia in Chicago, yum

In an unlikely neighborhood in the west loop, a little restaurant has appeared. It manages to be both exquisite and unpretentious. And it has unpasteurized Manchego cheese! But fine dining is Maggie's area, so I'll take her there when she's back from school and let her write about it here.

Aquapod on the loose!

Stepping out of a "paint your own pottery" party on Armitage this morning, an eight-year-old girl lost her grip on her small, fat-bellied Aquapod of Nestlé Water. It rolled down the sloped sidewalk till her mother made a diving save. Nice to see that a company has made water festive enough to be a party drink!

Technorati Profile

cross-dressing your package

It's Back-to-School time and that means new clothes--for food products trying to elbow their way into lunch boxes. Slim Jim turns up in a small stick pack usually favored by candy and coffee. These come inside a canister like a Pringles pack. Brilliant! I also tip my hat to LiveActive pineapple/cottage cheese that appears in a yogurt cup. And let's pay homage here to bagels and pita and pretzel "flats" that New York Style has tranformed to chips. May the best costume win!

offering food to kids who aren't hungry

The airport on Thursday reminded me of the Farmer's Market I told you about, in that when I was picking up my water for the flight i heard mothers asking kids if they wanted cookies, chips. The kids weren't thinking about food, they were excited to watch the airplanes--a sight that bored the mothers.