Chipotle Cultivate Festival

EDUCATIONAL
I recently attended the third annual (2013) Chipolte Cultivate Festival. In fact, I have attended the last three years and every year I learn something new.
First, I have a new respect for Chipolte. If it wasn’t for this festival I would have continued to not eat here. Prior to attending 3 years ago, I hadn’t eaten her in over 10 years mainly because I just didn’t like it when it first opened. At that time McDonalds had partially owned this business and I’m sure it had a hand in why I didn’t like it.
FYI: McDonalds has no part in this business anymore. They sold off there interest years ago. Unfortunately everyone still thinks they own it and most people are surprised when I tell them they don’t. In fact, they erected huge signs at the festival this year informing the guests that McDonalds does not own them. If you know anything about this company they are nothing like McDonalds and that is why I respect them.
Chipolte cares about where its meat comes from. The animals have to be humanly treated. In fact, they set up large posters you can read that compares what they do versus other restaurants. It is kind of shocking and really wants me to buy my own animals and raise them in the backyard. One of the shocking things I learned is that 80% of our antibiotics go to animals and not humans. That is just wrong. Then we eat this meat that is full of antibiotics. Honestly this can not be healthy for any of us. That is why Chipotle is using antibiotic free meat. It is smart and shows they care about the customer. We all need to know what kind of crap were putting in our body and at least Chipotle is trying to fill us with good stuff. I also signed a bill to the Illinois Senator to stop injecting animals with antibiotics. It should just be criminal. Raise them in healthy uncrowded clean conditions and this problem won’t exist. The sad part is that big business and the Federal Government care more about money then our human health.
It is these kinds of things that most people in the industry would not want you to know. Chipotle has no fear to share this information because they are doing it right. They also show you how other companies make there food and what they added in compared to the natural ingredients of there food. Again this breakdown may be shocking but its educational. It just reinforces we we need to know what we are putting in our body.
Now the festival is not all doom and gloom. It is a celebration too. There is a huge stage where bands play all day long. This year they had two tents with chefs giving cooking demonstrations. There is also food available for purchase. Chipolte also introduced its new Asian restaurant. A few locations are in Washington DC. It kind of looks like the Asian version of Chipolte, so I’m sure we will see these poping up in Chicago in the near future.
There is also a great kids area where they can paint and design there own T-​Shirts. Our little one loves this area. Just make sure you dress your little one dresses in clothes that can get dirty because they will get dirty.
This is a fun family event. Chipotle is an amazing company that understands what is good for its customers and the environment. More restaurants need to be held accountable for what they are putting in people’s bodies. And if they aren’t then people need to stop going to them and they will change. It has been over three years since I’ve had McDonalds and Taco Bell. Since then Taco Bell claims to be using real meat, so maybe by not going it is sending those businesses a message. I’m glad we stumbled upon this event 3 years ago because it has opened our eyes. Thanks Chipotle for making a difference!

I met up with a blogger friend around 11am at the Chipotle Cultivate Festival. At the gate, I was given a passport to get stamped at four different tents that educate all about food. We got our four stamps pretty quickly and made our way over to the table to get our card for free Chipotle. (Side note: I’m pretty late on this review, and just realized that the card expires at the end of the month… better get on that!) Later in the day, the lines were crazy, and I don’t think I would have wanted to wait. The music was probably the best that I’ve heard at a festival all summer long. I loved that the special food offerings. I tried a bowl that was fantastic, but the name escapes my memory. I had a great time picking up freebies and watching a cooking demo. I arrived thinking I would only spend an hour here, but it turned into an all afternoon event. An important reminder, it is a one day only festival. I will definitely be back next year!

i really like this fest. it’s not like, oh hey, let’s eat burrito bowls in the park, like, all at once. it’s a legit place to learn about organic, sustainable, unprocessed, fresh, local food.
it’s a one-​day kinda thang. they have all kinds-​a-​food (not just chipotle) — made, sold, created locally, organically. anything from ice cream, beer, popcorn, you name it. and it’s all delicious. they have different stages showcasing different celeb chefs, doing cooking demos, etc. there are informational stations to edu-​ma-​cate you about sustainable foods, animals, free-​range shit, and the like. you know what i say. there aren’t many or even any fests in chicago where you can eat, learn and drink all at once.
this year, my favorite band happened to be playing FO’ FREE.99. i mean, come on. i was surrounded by teenagers and was the only one drinking, but it was totally worth it.
brown line it to sedgwick and walk down north ave to the fest. or pork it on lasalle.

What a great event, Chipotle puts on the best free summer festival in the city. There’s so much going on for everyone. The music on stage was great, and there were two smaller stages with chefs putting on cooking demonstrations. Lots of food everywhere, I was excited to try an amazing meatball and rice bowl from Chipotle’s new ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurant that will hopefully come to Chicago soon. The dish was so good I wanted to get more, but there was so much other food to try too. I also had the pork gorditas which were excellent as well.
Then the beer tent! The Cultivate Ale brewed by 5 Rabbits for the festival was pretty good, but my favorites were Half Acre’s Akari Shogun and Furthermore Brewing’s Oscura iced coffee lager. A lot of excellent breweries made it out for the event, I wish I could have tried them all.
Finally they had a local artisans tent with desserts, meat and veggie dishes, cherry lemonade, iced coffees, jams, honey, all locally made. If you stop at the various information stations around the festival, Chipotle will tell you about the importance of antibiotic free meats, free-​range farming, organic cotton and why their avocados are so tasty. Stop by four tents and you earn yourself a free entrée from Chipotle. We did it last year, but this year the lines were so long we decided to skip it and enjoy the rest of the festival. I only wish this was a two-​day event.

People working at this event were a joke. I was turned away at the gate because I had my dslr with me, even though on their website FAQ it clearly states personal cameras are under the allowed items category. I was there with the same camera last year and had no problems going in, and saw even bigger cameras everywhere. Implementing a new policy without updating website info or mentioning on social media is pretty stupid. Annual tradition? No more!

Calling all foodies, the Cultivate Festival is one of the best free events in the city. From cooking demonstrations with superstar chefs (Richard Blais, Matthias Merges, Sarah Grueneberg, Danny Grant to name a few), to food and beverage tastings and live music (G. Love and Special Sauce), this year’s Cultivate was an outstanding production. My only problem was choosing who to see at what time. Somewhat like Lollapalooza, there are two different Chef Stages, with events going on simultaneously. I think that next year, they could alternate between the two stages, and I could indulge in watching my fave chefs all day. Another cool addition was having the farmers who supplied the chefs also talk a bit about their business and the love they have for fresh, local ingredients. Sponsored by Chipotle, there were learning exhibits on sustainability, and if you visited four booths, you scored a coupon for a free burrito. This fest definitely wanted to keep everyone hydrated, with the Brewer’s Hall being one of the most crowded spots, as well as the variety of samples from Odwalla, Vitamin Water and CasCal fermented sodas. With the event spread out over Lincoln Park, it never felt crowded like some of the street fests do. Probably one of the most inclusive fests, allowing bikes, dogs, and pretty much whatever you wanted to chill out for the day. The weather could not have been any better. Come back soon, Cultivate! I’ll be waiting for you!