2019-11-25 06:32:32
ECO-FRIENDLY VENUES AND CATERING Plan an event that’s good for your attendees and the environment in Chicago, home to the most green-certified buildings, hotels, and rooftop gardens in the country. We’ve got suggestions for some of the leading eco-conscious venues and caterers in the city. VENUES The Midwest’s largest farm-to-fork rooftop garden sits atop the LEED-certified McCormick Place West Building. The 2.5-acre garden produces seasonal vegetables and herbs that are used in SAVOR…Chicago at McCormick Place’s kitchens. The rooftop terrace can accommodate up to 800 guests for receptions. Greenhouse Loft is located within the LEED-certified Platinum Green Exchange building, a former manufacturing facility in Logan Square. The natural light-filled, customizable venue can accommodate up to 250 people and features an organic outdoor garden. The Catalyst Ranch conference center in the West Loop offers 15,000 square feet of eclectic space, with six colorful meeting rooms across two floors. The venue features recycled retro furniture and dinnerware made up of a collection of vintage plates and glasses. The Joinery is a former cabinet factory in Logan Square that has been stripped down to its brick and timber beauty. A huge skylight floods the open space with natural light, where old woodworking machinery has been repurposed into furniture. The Joinery can accommodate 100 guests. Chicago’s high-profile Studio Gang architecture firm offers the nature-inspired Studio Gang Treehouse atop its Wicker Park headquarters. The rooftop venue, which can accommodate 60 people, overlooks a prairie garden that’s a lush habitat for birds and a colony of bees. CATERERS SAVOR…Chicago at McCormick Place is the convention center’s exclusive food and beverage provider. SAVOR leads the meetings industry in green certifications and recognition, and recently incorporated the innovative Grind2Energy system to convert food waste into usable energy. Big Delicious Planet specializes in tastes from all over the globe, and is well-versed in vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes. Hold a dinner or cocktail party for up to 50 guests in Big Delicious Planet’s urban farm, where the caterer grows its own fruits and vegetables. Catering by Michael’s has a long history in the conscious catering movement as one of the founding members of the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition. The caterer offers reusable packaging (such as baskets), along with tree-free napkins and cutlery made of recycled materials. FIG (For Intimate Gatherings) creates dishes with ingredients sourced from local organic farmers and features sustainably produced wines, craft beers, and spirits. Any disposable products used by FIG are corn, sugar, soy, or paper based for easy recycling or composting. Blue Plate Catering, one of Chicago’s first green caterers, is certified by the Green Restaurant Association. Earth-friendly practices at Blue Plate include the composting of food scraps (used as fertilizer for city parks) and recycling cooking oil into biodiesel. Limelight Catering was a pioneer in the conscious catering movement, installing the city’s first green commercial dishwashing system and purchasing renewable energy credits. Limelight also instituted “green-festing,” a comprehensive event recycling program. Food for Thought makes it a priority to produce dishes that are ethically sourced and sustainable, and operates a responsible recycling program. Besides catering at venues around Chicago, Food for Thought operates 19 East, a historic South Loop space accommodating up to 500 guests.
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