James Beard Foundation to host chef collaboration brunch at Peach’s on South Side

The James Beard Foundation will host a rare event on the South Side next month.

The Taste America Chicago brunch will be held at Peach’s, the beloved Black-owned restaurant in the Bronzeville neighborhood, on March 5.

Chef and owner Cliff Rome will collaborate with two guest chefs for three courses, each paired with a cocktail or wine.

Three of the wine and spirit brands are notably owned by Black women, with two founded in Chicago. They were chosen by sommeliers at Mariano’s, an event sponsor.

Guest chefs Lamar Moore and Nok Suntaranon were selected for the brunch by the Beard Foundation from among 20 chefs across the country in their program known as TasteTwenty.

Moore was last chef at Eleven Eleven in the West Loop, and previously was the opening chef at Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse in Las Vegas. That job was his prize for winning the Food Network’s “Vegas Chef Prizefight” in 2020.

Suntaranon is the chef and owner of the critically acclaimed Thai restaurant Kalaya in Philadelphia.

“The chefs selected to participate in this year’s Taste America culinary series demonstrate a meaningful commitment to their communities and an investment in making the industry more equitable and sustainable,” the Beard Foundation said in a statement. “From investing in local purveyors to supporting independent farmers, sourcing quality ingredients, representing diverse cuisines, or using their restaurant as a platform for underrepresented groups — the chefs chosen for this year’s TasteTwenty are leaders helping to shape the future of the culinary industry across America.”

The foundation will hold its annual restaurant and chef awards ceremony at the Civic Opera House on June 5.

The Taste America Chicago brunch will begin with a bread course starring Peach’s biscuits, some of the best in the city, along with pimento cheese and house-made brown butter cornbread, all paired with a welcome cocktail courtesy of 1800 Tequila, also an event sponsor.

The first course will feature Suntaranon’s gui chai, her traditional Thai crispy garlic chive rice cakes with sweet and spicy soy sauce, paired with a riesling, Head Over Heels by Love Cork Screw.

Chrishon Lampley founded the Black-woman-owned wine brand in Chicago.

The second course, by Moore, offers white cheddar Marsh Hen Mill’s grits served with fried catfish or crispy cauliflower and a sunny-side-up fried egg. Either way, it’s paired with Champagne, Brut Impérial by Moët & Chandon.

The third and final course can be none other than Rome’s signature peach cobbler, paired with a “rum-mosa” cocktail mixed with Halo 7 rum and topped by a sparkling brut, Black Girl Magic by McBride Sisters.

Both Halo 7 and McBride Sisters are also Black-women-owned brands. Godsisters Ashley Jackson and JeNai Stanley launched their craft rum brand Halo 7 in Chicago in 2021. Sisters Robin and Andréa McBride founded their collection in California in 2005, and it’s now the biggest Black-owned wine company in the country.

Tickets for the Beard brunch at Peach’s cost $300 per pair (single tickets not available) with tables of two, four and six available for purchase.

Peach’s, 4652 S. King Drive, 773-966-5801, peachson47th.com

James Beard Foundation, Taste America Chicago, jamesbeard.org/events/taste-america-chicago-8

lchu@chicagotribune.com

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