The Madison Area Chefs Network (MACN) is now prepped for its second big event: A week of chef-centered menu collaborations running March 9-15 (see the full schedule in print with this Thursday's issue of Isthmus). It's a significant advance in scope over its inaugural event, last fall's YumYum Fest -- a single evening's picnic in the park that proved encouragingly popular. MACN Week features over 30 events with over 30 area chefs participating.
"Good things come from us working together," says Gilbert Altschul (Grampa's Pizzeria, Gib's Bar), one of the event's organizers. "It was started so we could be better together, from getting support with staff, to finding ingredients, to working with farmers, to having another restaurant refer a handyman -- we wanted to be able to turn to this network. This week is a celebration of that."
MACN Week comes at a time when Madison chef culture is riding high, with the city receiving two semifinalist nods for the prestigious James Beard Award "Best Chef of the Midwest" -- for Dan Fox of Heritage Tavern and Jonny Hunter of Forequarter, both key participants in MACN.
Nights when a chef from one restaurant cooks dishes at another demonstrates the group's egalitarian nature. Sometimes these chefs are big names like Tory Miller of L'Etoile or Dave Heide of Liliana's. But sometimes it's Dan Schmitz, from the food cart and small falafel restaurant Banzo, cooking the late-night menu at the James Beard-nominated Forequarter (10:15 p.m. on March 14), or Laila Borokhim, virtually a one-woman show at Layla's, one of the Midwest's only Persian restaurants, doing the same late-night Forequarter gig on March 12.
MACN Week is important, Altschul says, because at least for him, "seeing what my colleagues are doing motivates me, helps me be more creative, makes me be more into what I do."
He also points to the week-ending potluck, a benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin, as a way to involve and thank the public: "We wouldn't be anywhere without them. The potluck will be a fun event for people to come and unwind and talk about what they liked about the week."
Tami Lax (Harvest, the Old Fashioned) thinks it's important for restaurants that "share the same passion for serving good and healthy food" to build camaraderie. MACN Week allows chefs with "different styles and personalities" to "weave a banner of Madison area chefs," she says, and create fun, entertaining things for the community to do -- and a reason to come out in the cold.
At Harvest, Lax will feature small plates created by 10 different chefs that will be served all week long (three plates/$15). This "gives people different options," says Lax.
The week-long special menu was also adopted by Osteria Papavero, the Great Dane-downtown and Gotham Bagels.
Lax hopes that MACN Week will raise the profile of the group and encourage more woman chefs to become involved: "This event could really help that balance."
Like Altschul, Lax is looking forward to the potluck finale. "There'll be something for everyone, and a lot of fun to end the week."
[Isthmus is a media sponsor of MACN Week. Look for the print guide this Thursday in Isthmus.]
