Illinois

An empowering approach to leadership makes Jill Torke, director of sales and marketing for The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago, a superwoman in the city’s hotel scene.

Think creative F&B always has to be expensive? Think Again. We asked a hotel, a restaurant and a conference center to create three menus at three different price points - and they delivered. 

Lucky Strike served as the host venue for the third-annual Hospitality Fest, which gathered more than 750 meeting and event planning professionals for a four-hour evening event. With the goal of spotlighting options across Chicagoland for holiday parties, 74 table sponsors showcased ideas for F&B, event spaces and corporate activities. The teams and volunteers wore bowling shirts with presenting title sponsors’ names on the front to create a fun, laidback atmosphere.

From new interactive F&B ideas to clever ways for introducing bold flavors to picky palettes, consider this your guide to more creative cuisine in 2019. 

All About Alton

Halls of Fame

That's the Spirit!

Choose Chicago’s Ben Smock shares tricks of the trade.

For nearly a decade, Elizabeth Tulipana, owner of Anticipation Events, of has been styling events throughout Chicagoland and beyond. We challenged her to put a new spin on the age-old buffet setup. The resulting ideas will have your guests clamoring to take both photos and bites. Forks up!

For these four couples, the events industry proved to be much more than just a career.