From Middle Eastern meeting snacks to private tours of a Vietnamese supermarket, here are a few new services and activities that center on global cuisine.
1. A former personal chef and cooking instructor, Rebecca Wheeler now leads corporate groups on tours of ethnic markets and restaurants. Starting at $85 per person, the tours cater to groups of four to 12 guests, and can last from two to three-and-a-half hours. Hosts may select a route from a list of options that include Argyle Street, where guests make their way through a Vietnamese bakery and supermarket before sitting down for a meal at a noodle shop. Other tours wind through Chinatown, Andersonville, and Devon Street, and Wheeler provides information on the culinary history and cooking techniques of the predominant cultures in each neighborhood.
2. In September, the chefs from Naperville's Shinto Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar began offering in-office sushi-making classes. Best suited to groups with 10 or fewer guests, the classes run for two hours and teach participants to create specialty rolls such as the Boston, which combines shrimp with lettuce, cucumber, avocado, and cream cheese. The classes start at $60 per guest, and fees include the use of sushi-making kits and two glasses of wine per person. The restaurant can also cater the classes with trays of sushi or bring a portable hibachi grill to prepare hot dishes such as teriyaki chicken.
3. Roti Mediterranean Grill opened a Loop location in September and can now cater meetings at surrounding office buildings. Breakfast buffets, prepared for a minimum of 15 people, include the It's a Wrap special, which delivers veggie or chicken-sausage scramblers in flatbreads for $8 per person. For lunch and dinner, buffet packages run from $11.50 to $15.50 per guest and can be prepared for as few as 15 guests. Buffets can include items such as steak kabobs, homemade hummus, and Mediterranean chopped salads; side dishes offer by-the-pound portions of baba ghannoush or orzo pasta salad.
