Flight Chicago Takes Off Today

As food writers, we're granted access to a lot of things other food lovers don't often get to see, like chef's kitchens, behind-the-scenes looks into their cooking processes, late-night drinking habits (that's another story for another post) and more. But now, with the launch of Flight Chicago, you can find yourself inside the kitchen and having some hang time with great chefs in town.

Each week, Flight Chicago hits different neighborhoods for a three-hour tour (hopefully this won't end up like Gilligan's) of three different restaurants. You'll join a small group to visit each chef at his or her respective restaurant, get a tour, see how certain dishes are prepared and then, the best part? You eat and drink with the chef. Each restaurant "flight" runs between 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and currently take place Tuesday through Thursday. Saturday flights will be peppered in soon.

There are currently three flights scheduled: West Loop, West Town and Bucktown. Each costs $125, but you get to hang with the following chefs:

· West Loop: Randy Zweiban (Province), Andrew Zimmerman (Sepia) and David Dworshak (Carnivale)
· West Town: John Manion (Branch 27), Shawn McClain (Green Zebra) and Carlos Gaytan (Mexique)
· Bucktown: Chris Pandel (The Bristol), Shawn McClain (Spring) and Debbie Sharpe (Feast)

More flights and additional chefs will be added down the line.