Fired Up

Chicago may not have a “Little Haiti” neighborhood like the one in Miami but Chicago has a unique connection to Haiti. Chicago's first non-Indian settler was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a black man who was born in Haiti. ... He settled along the northern bank of the Chicago River near Lake Michigan, where he built a successful trading post and farm.As Haitians migrated to Chicago, they brought with them cooking traditions and practices from Haiti. The Haitian cuisine, is a Creole cuisine, that originates from a blend of several culinary styles that populated the western portion of the island of Hispaniola, namely the African, French, indigenous Taíno, Spanish and Arab influence.And this brings us to today’s story. A story for the search of a better future passed down from generation to generation. When Mitzi Coaker launched M Catering after graduating from the Joseph Business School, in Forest Park Il, she set her mind to do just that. But her story didn’t start there. During the the unrest in Haiti, Mitzi’s parents moved the family to the US when Mitzi and her siblings were young and they settled in Chicago. As with most immigrant parents, they wanted her to pursue a stable, safe, prestigious career, so Mitzi  as you would hear, became a Chemist, which of course didn’t last long. 

Chicago does not seem to have enough African restaurants, but the ones we do have are fantastic. Ethiopian is the main cuisine you’ll find here but there is some Nigerian, Moroccan and Senegalese sprinkled in there. To up the ante, Dozzy Ibekwe launched a modern west African restaurant to re-introduce Chicagoans to delicious African food. Dozzy moved to the states as a kid, but never forgot his roots and African hospitality. This episode is the story of how Dozzy Ibekwe went on a mission to learn, understand, and correct the state of West African cuisine in Chicago, launching Dozzy’s Grill, a modern west African restaurant. Let's get fired up!

There’s a saying, “ you don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”. Well, our guest has done just that. Michael Ponzio grew up in Elmwood park in Chicago, a predominantly Italian community at that time. At a young age of 11 years old, he started working at his uncle’s restaurant, bussing tables, washing dishes and making salad. Influenced by his nonna (Italian for grandma), he was inspired to go into culinary arts not before taking a detour through graphics design.  Anyway, soon after he graduated from Kendal college, he got hired as the sous chef at the only four star Italian restaurant in Chicago at the time. But let’s start at the beginning. His work ethics was influenced by is nonna, and because of that, he was able to accomplish so much at an early age. Today, he is the executive Chef of the Union League Club of Chicago, a 100 year old club that has only had 5 executive chefs. 

In this episode, we're heading over to Bronzeville in Chicago to chat with Nichole Jackson, owner of Bronzevillewingz, a healthy fast food restaurant that offers healthy and fresh food that caters to the residents of Bronzeville. Bronzevillewingz specializes in sauced naked and battered chicken. With over 30 sauce flavors, they put the Zing in wings!

For our very first episode, we decided to that with the basics- coffee. Phil Wingo, founder of Sandhill Coffee, a Chicago based company chats about how he stumbled into coffee, their mission and how the pandemic has impacted coffee consumption. To find out about the best restaurants visit Citispoon.com.