Chicago's fine-dining world is trading white tablecloths for fried chicken baskets this month. On August 23, nine local restaurants will battle for bragging rights at Cluck 'N Bubble, a brand-new fried chicken and Champagne competition landing at The Alston from noon to 4 p.m.
The inaugural event, held on the third floor of 750 N. State Street, offers general admission tickets at $150 and VIP passes at $250, according to Choose Chicago. Nine Chicago restaurants and chefs will compete to make the best fried chicken paired with a glass of bubbly, per the seed report from WLS-TV Chicago. Attendees get to vote on the winner, who walks away with the Fried Chicken Champion title.
The chef lineup reads like a who's who of Chicago's food scene. Henry Cai of 3 LP, Christine Cikowski and Josh Kulp of Honey Butter Fried Chicken, Charmaine Rickette of Uncle Remus, Jenner Tomaska of The Alston/Esmé, and Lee Wolen of GG's Chicken Shop/Boka are among those competing, according to the event listing on Luma.
Beef Tallow and Bubbly Take Center Stage
Every competing chef will fry Sysco-supplied chicken in 100% natural beef tallow from South Chicago Packing, then pair the dishes with sparkling wines and Champagnes supplied by Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, the same Luma listing notes. It's a deliberate mash-up of humble fried chicken and high-end bubbles that defines the whole event.
VIP ticket holders get access to a lounge called The Hen House, featuring premium pours from Champagne houses including Perrier-Jouët, Louis Roederer, Henriot, and Pol Roger, plus caviar and truffles from The Alston and food spreads from Mariano's, according to organizers. Proceeds from the event support future mentorship, education, and job-training opportunities for the next generation of culinary talent, per WLS-TV Chicago's report.
Featured chef Henry Cai brings his own scrappy origin story to the lineup. He launched 3 Little Pigs, known as 3 LP, in 2020 as an Instagram-based pop-up out of a shared kitchen before expanding into brick-and-mortar spots in the South Loop and Bridgeport, according to WhatNow. Cai and Banchet Awards Executive Director Michael Muser joined WLS-TV Chicago to discuss the event ahead of its debut.
A Launchpad for the Banchet Awards' 25th Year
Cluck 'N Bubble marks the Banchet Awards organization's first public event held outside its annual awards ceremony, serving as the official kickoff to its milestone 25th anniversary season leading into January 2027, according to Choose Chicago. Muser, a veteran sommelier and restaurateur, previously co-founded Chicago's two-Michelin-starred Ever and the former three-Michelin-starred Grace alongside chef Curtis Duffy, per Wikipedia.
The Banchet Awards were established in 2002 and named for French chef Jean Banchet, who opened the celebrated Le Français in Wheeling, Illinois, in 1973 and is credited with putting the Chicago area on the map as a national fine-dining destination, Wikipedia notes. The awards were originally created by the Greater Illinois Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as an annual benefit gala, then restructured in late 2022 as an independent non-profit focused on supporting local culinary mentorship and hospitality workforce development, according to a report from WTTW.
The organization's most recent ceremony, held in January 2026, saw Alinea chef Grant Achatz receive a lifetime achievement award while Michelin-starred Indienne was named Restaurant of the Year and John Manion earned Chef of the Year, per WTTW. Manion has since expanded into the former Proxi space in the West Loop. Past Banchet honorees have included Bill Montagne, who won Best Chef de Cuisine at Nico Osteria, and Ras Dashen, which took home Best Ethnic Restaurant honors in 2018.
