A table of Beet Wraps

It was a blustery and rainy Friday night in Chicago when we pulled into the loading docks of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Delivery Trucks, vans, cars and people stacked up along the streets and sidewalks as we tried to protect our offerings for the evening from what could appropriately be called Noah’s biblical reprise.

The friendly staff for the event moved gracefully, but with authority to marshal the goods and people in and out of the narrow loading area and after only a few minutes we were standing in the museum. We set the table, prepared our plates, and waited to see if, under the weather conditions, Chicagoans would brave the wind and rain. And they did. And they did in high fashion.

The music pumped energy into the room. The beautiful people mingled. Several at a time stood in front of us, staring at the strange concoction before them and asked, “what do we have here!” After biting into our beet wrap, the most common expression was “Wow! This is amazing!” We gave away $25 gift certificates to Tassos.com, and a complimentary drink or desert at Gaetano’s restaurant.

A Beautiful Person

We prepared over 300 plates for attendees and quite frankly, had a difficult time keeping up with the demand of over 1,000 patrons. The event ran from 6pm to about 11pm but by 9:30 we had exhausted all our supplies and joined the other guests on the second floor gallery, where a silent auction was being held. When last I looked, our Tassos gift basket was going for $120.00.

Out on the terrace, we discovered the weather had cleared, music and laughter was in the air and the place was packed with smiling people. So, we stopped to take a few photos, talk to the staff and sample the kettle one vodka which of course included our Tassos garlic and jalapeno double stuffed olives.  Our thanks go to the Northwestern Memorial Auxiliary Board, Chicago Magazine, Gaetano’s Restaurant and of course the attendees. It was a spectacular event for an excellent cause and we look forward to participating again!

Tassos, in conjunction with Chicago Magazine, is pleased to participate in the upcoming Northwestern Memorial Hospital Fund Raiser to be held at the Mueseum of Contemporary Arts in Chicago, IL on Friday June 18th from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm. More details on this event can be found at The Auxiliary Board of Northwestern Memorial’s Website.  

At this event, Tassos will provide a food station offering a Kalamata Beet Wrap, which includes beet carpaccio, Tassos Skordalia (with Roasted Garlic), Tassos Pitted Kalamata Olive served up on a toasted pita chip and garnished with chives. The preparation below was created by Executive Chef Gaetano DiBenedetto, of Gaetano’s restaurant in Forest Park, IL. All ingredients shown (everything but the plate and chives) are available on Tassos.com.

Tassos has also donated several gift baskets to be auctioned silently and will be providing Tassos amazing stuffed olives for the spirits sponsors as well. It’s an excellent cause and we hope to see you there!