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Pilot Light's Gala: Support Food Education with Elevated Experience
November 6 Event Features Astounding Lineup of World-Class Chefs
I became a full-time advocate of a better food system after Barb and I moved to Chicago in 2011, and quickly became persuaded that the key to ensuring the future success of our mission is to instill the values of a better-for-people-and-the-planet food ecosystem in our youngest eaters.
Pilot Light, a chef-founded Chicago food education non-profit, has played a big role in shaping this viewpoint.
Founded in 2009, Pilot Light partners directly with educators across the country who integrate food into everyday classroom learning. Their teacher-led model empowers educators of all grade levels and subject areas to weave food topics into their curriculum. By learning through food and about food, students develop the knowledge and skills to make informed choices and to advocate for themselves, their communities and our food system.
That is why I have supported Pilot Light's work for more than a decade, and why I am pleased to share the following details about their spectacular 2026 Feed Your Mind gala. The event will take place the evening of November 6 at the Rockwell on the River event space in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood.
The gala is presented by Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation. Sprouts is a grocery chain, focused heavily on organic and regeneratively produced items, that already is challenging Whole Foods Market for the largest number of stores in the better food sector nationally — and is launching a major entry in the Chicago market starting early next year.
The event will, as always, be headlined by founding superstar chefs Jason Hammel, Paul Kahan and Matthias Merges, and Justin Large, a chef who now works in the restaurant technology space. And they have again recruited a mind-blowing lineup of top Chicago culinary talents to create the food for attendees at the November 6 event.
The gala is a bit of a high-end ticket, but I've have attended this event previously and can assure that if you can swing it, you will have a night to remember.
Here are the details from the organizers, followed by links to buy tickets and to learn more about Pilot Light's mission.
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OVER 20 OF CHICAGO’S TOP CHEFS UNITE AT PILOT LIGHT’S FEED YOUR MIND GALA
TO SUPPORT CHILDHOOD FOOD EDUCATION ON NOVEMBER 6
Presented by Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, Founding Chefs Matthias Merges, JasonHammel, Paul Kahan and Justin Large join forces with Chicago’s most celebrated culinary talent for an interactive, table-side dining event this Fall
Dedicated to bringing food education into schools across the country, Pilot Light is pleased to announce the return of the annual Feed Your Mind Gala on Friday, November 6 at Rockwell on the River (3057 N. Rockwell St). Presented by Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, the evening will feature over 20 of Chicago’s most award-winning and celebrated chefs coming together for a one-of-a-kind interactive and table-side dining experience for each guest. Individual tickets are now available for $700, as well as full Chef table buy-outs, via Pilot Light’s website here.
Unlike traditional galas, Pilot Light’s Feed Your Mind Gala delivers a front-row seat to
world-class culinary craftsmanship for one-night-only. Founding Chefs Matthias Merges, Jason Hammel, Paul Kahan and Justin Large have curated a lineup spanning the city’s rich gastronomic landscape, including James Beard Award winners and MICHELIN-starred recipients. Culinary leaders such as Thai Dang (HaiSous), Tim Flores and Genie Kwon (Kasama), Doug Psaltis (Andros Taverna), Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark (Parachute) and others will curate a personal, tableside cooking experience for each guest, raising funds for Pilot Light’s mission of childhood food education nationwide.
“No other event in Chicago—or the country—brings together this level of culinary talent, all in one room, cooking for a cause,” said Alexandra DeSorbo-Quinn, Executive Director of Pilot Light. “This event is a celebration of the transformative power of food, in the kitchen and in the classroom.”
The full list of the 2026 Feed Your Mind Tableside Chef lineup includes:
● Rick Bayless – Frontera Grill / Topolobampo
● Lena Ciardullo – Union Square Cafe
● Beverly Kim & Johnny Clark – Parachute
● Thai Dang – HaiSous
● Curtis Duffy – Ever
● Zach Engel – Galit
● Tim Flores & Genie Kwon – Kasama
● Rob Levitt – Publican Quality Meats
● John Manion – El Che Steakhouse
● James Martin – Bocadillo Market
● Oliver Poilevey – Le Bouchon / Obélix
● Tony Priolo – Piccolo Sogno
● Doug Psaltis – Andros Taverna
● John Shields – Smyth
● José Sosa – The Greggory
● Sarah Stegner – Prairie Grass Cafe
● Courtney Storer – Culinary Producer of The Bear
● Giuseppe Tentori – GT Fish & Oyster
● Paul Virant – Vie
● Lee Wolen – Boka
Pilot Light is committed to furthering their mission of food education for school-children from ages Pre-K through 12th grade, in order to create a better food systems future. Their model incorporates learning about food, nutrition, and education in the role that food plays in one’s life, relationships, culture, communities, environment, and history and society. Through this ethos, Pilot Light educators are dedicated to inspiring students to become active and informed members of the food system.
In addition, the annual Feed Your Mind Gala offers guests the exclusive opportunity to participate in an exciting live auction featuring luxury travel and food experiences curated by Pilot Light’s Founding Chefs. These packages are exclusively available for all gala attendees, offering world-class experiences for the modern culinary adventurer. More details on these curated experiences to follow.
“Pilot Light works because chefs show up. When our industry comes together to support food education, we strengthen not just our kitchens, but our communities,” says Founding Chef Matthias Merges.
To stay up-to-date on Pilot Light and the Feed Your Mind Gala presented by Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, follow along on Instagram @pilotlightchefs or via the website. www.feedyourmindgala.org.
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