Green City Farmers Market hosting festival, fundraiser

CHICAGO (CBS)-- The Green City farmers market is celebrating the best of the Midwest Thursday and one unique BBQ is not just a food festival but a fundraiser too.

The Chef BBQ pairs the top chefs in the city with the best locally grown ingredients from all over the Midwest. The result is delicious food and drinks everywhere you look.

Cherry Circle Room Executive Chef and Chicago native Mari Katsumura is laying down the foundation for something special.

"When you think of corn, you think of summer. It has a sweet corn chow chow on top so corn from Nichols Farm as well as green tomatoes from Nichols Farm and it's kind of like that sweet and sour pickled relish you see in a lot of Southern food," Katsumura said.

Jimmy Nardello chili peppers from Nichols Farm are tempura battered and fried. A locally sourced egg, soy-cured, sits center plate.

"A lot of my food is based on my Japanese heritage and inspiration from dishes that I grew up eating and I think that for me I wanted a nice homey, comforting, filling vegetarian dish that would celebrate the flavors of summer," Katsumura said.

The flavors of summer will be on full display at the Green City Farmers Market's annual Chef BBQ, where more than 100 Chicago chefs, brewers, winemakers and mixologists whip up locally-inspired drinks and dishes using farmers market ingredients.

"The synergy and I think it's going to be great energy and kind of the last barbeque of summer so why not celebrate that," Katsumura said.

It is a celebration, but the event goes further than that.

The money raised goes right back into the farmer's market to support sustainable farmers, educate the community about where food comes from and why it matters and expanding access to locally grown food.