The Glass Art Society is mixing the culinary and glass art worlds with a special pre-conference fundraising event taking place on Wednesday, March 19, at Ignite Glass Studios, a prime venue for the 2014 Glass Art Society Conference in Chicago. Two representatives of Embeya restaurant, one of Esquire magazine's best new restuarants of 2013, will be on hand to kick the evening off with drinks and appetizers. Creative cocktails will be crafted by the restaurant's beverage director Danielle Pizzutillo, while the trays of hors d'oevres will be the work of Embeya's chef Thai Dang. Look for asian-fusion flavors prepared with French culinary techniques, with both the food and drinks said to be "glass-inspired" according to a GAS announcement about the event that will run from 6 PM to 10 PM. (Tickets are $200 for GAS members and $225 for non-members.)
The dinner course will be overseen by prolific chef and owner, Matthias Merges of Yusho, the Billy Sunday bar, and A10 Hyde Park. After many years of working with the late Charlie Trotter, a legendary chef who helped put Chicago on the culinary map, Merges has been putting his own unique stamp on a string of hit restaurant and bar establishments. For the GAS event at Ignite, he will be designing dishes that pay homage to the conferences Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Dan Dailey.
The GAS Pre-Conference Reception is a fundraiser that supports the reduced fees for registration for student members of GAS. For this special event at Ignite, shuttles will begin leaving the Palmer House at 5:30. Advance purchase of tickets is required and can be done via the GAS Website.