If You're Hungry For Ideas, Check Out Chicago Ideas Week's Food Events

The 2015 iteration Chicago Ideas Week starts on Monday, and once again the event offers a variety of food- and drink-related tours, seminars and tastings. Martha Stewart will speak on Wednesday, but the week offers much more than Martha. Check out this listing of all the food-related events, and check out the Ideas Week website to see if there are any openings left.

Monday, Oct. 12

Eastman Egg Co. recently opened their second restaurant at the Ogilvie Transportation Center. Their CEO, Hunter Swartz will talk about the company's expansion from a food truck and give tours of the truck and both restaurants. Also, attendees will get to make their own egg sandwich in the kitchen.

6 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Food As Medicine, optional meet-up after event at Elephant & Castle.

WBEZ food and health reporter Monica Eng and Dr. Monica Geeta-Clark of NorthShore Medical Group talk about the concept of culinary medicine, and how that's changing the world of health care.

6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Wine Making & Tasting with City Winery

Get a tour of this Randolph Street facility, participate in a blending session and chat with beverage director and certified sommelier Rachel Driver Speckan and Vintner Robert Kowal.

Tuesday, Oct. 13

3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Margarita Mixer with Antique Taco & Tromba Tequila

See how Antique Taco mixes their signature margaritas with beverage director Madeleine Suter.

4 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Lagunitas Brewing 101

Go on the floor and take a tour of this Douglas Park brewery. Yes, there's samples.

7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: A Blend of Coffee and Bikes with Heritage Bicycles

Heritage G.M. Alan Gagné will talk about their business model, which brings together custom-made cycles and fresh-brewed java.

Wednesday, Oct. 14

9 a.m. to noon: Making Food with Integrity with Chipotle

Make your own guacamole in a Chipotle kitchen while company officials talk about the chain's commitment to the environment.

10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: How to #MakeCoolSh*t with 555 International

The same design firm behind The Girl & The Goat will give you a tour of their studio and president/founder James Geier will talk about the world of design.

2 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Know Your Coffee with Dark Matter Coffee

Learn how to make coffee and train your taste buds and nose to learn what makes good coffee — well — good. Dark Matter's minister of propaganda, Kyle Hodges leads this talk.

4 p.m. to 6 p.m.: How to Make Your Mouth Water (Through Photos) with The Chicago Tribune

Learn how the Trib styles food in their test kitchen to make those photos that appear online and print, but that no one actually would see on a smartphone.

6 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Pie Making 101 with Bang Bang Pie Shop

Bang Bang's founder, Michael Ciapciak, guides attendees in Logan Square on how to bake your own pie.

6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Chinatown Food & History Tour

Start off with homemade noodles at Hing Kee, then take a tour of Chinatown, including the newly-open Chinatown Library. Sip on smoothies and teas at Joy Yees, then sample some dumplings at Moon Palace before visiting Ming Him and desert at Chiu Quon Bakery.

7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Mixology 101 with Parce Rum and Owen + Alchemy

Parce Rum Community Manager Greg Birman and Owen + Alchemy Co-Founder Anne M. Owen mix rum with juices to come with cocktails.

Wednesday, Oct. 15

8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Lots of Mozz(arella) at Eataly Chicago

Eataly cheesemonger David Malzahn gives attendees a behind the scenes tour of Eataly's mozzarella lab. Learn how to make cheese.

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: What's On The Table With The Peterson Garden Project

Make homemade condiments at the Peterson Garden Project's new community cooking school while learning how a home-cooked meal affects society.

6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: The Chinatown You've Never Seen: An Underground Tour

This is the second of two iterations of this event. Start off with homemade noodles at Hing Kee, then take a tour of Chinatown.

Noon to 1:30 p.m.: Logan Square Food Crawl With The Hungry Hound

Steve Dolinsky takes the group to Analogue, Lula Cafe and Longman & Eagle for a unique tour of Logan Square's restaurants.

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Cocktails and Conversation at The Office

Nick Kokonas (Next, Aviary) will give guests a rare opportunity to check out his invitation-only speakeasy. He'll talk about his projects, including Tock, the online ticket-booking portal.