Field-To-Fork Collaboration Brings Two North Shore Communities Together

LAKE FOREST, IL — Set against the backdrop of Elawa Farms' historic Lake Farms estate, the chef of an upcoming Evanston restaurant will offer a five-course tasting menu that celebrates chef-farmer connection and peak local harvests.

Chef Thomas Carlin and Rachel Canfora-Carlin of Burl have joined forces with Elawa Farm for an intimate, open-air evening rooted in community, craft, and the bounty of the season.

The idea to partner with Elawa Farms came from a desire to connect to the larger North Shore community and a recent family visit, Carlin said. Last fall, Tom and Rachel brought their kids to the farm and immediately felt a connection.

"Rachel was like, we should try and do something with Elawa Farms. Because it's perfect, it's beautiful, and we thought that people who like Elawa Farms will also like what we're going to be doing at Burl," Carlin said.

Guests at Tuesday's event will be among the first to experience the spirit of the highly anticipated restaurant set to open later this year. Their farmer-driven approach to creating a menu, emphasizing the unique connections Burl has made with local farms from Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

During the pandemic, farmers had huge surpluses of crops going unused as restaurants fell on hard times and shut down. When Carlin talked to some of those farmers at the time, they'd offer 500 pounds of cabbage or six cases of peaches and asked, "Can you figure out something to do with these?"

"That's where the gears started turning, of letting them drive the conversation of what we're going to be cooking at the restaurant," Carlin said. "Bringing my engagement with the farming community to to our guests, I think it's a really cool thing to do."

Letting the farms dictate what Burl makes gives Carlin a chance to flex his creative muscles a bit, he said, imagining the different ways to incorporate one ingredient into many different dishes. In studying the cuisines of other cultures, Carlin said he was inspired to incorporate a variety of flavors and techniques to create Burl's menu.

Carlin mixed his own tried-and-true techniques with things he's learned since moving to Chicago and being exposed to all sorts of different cuisines.

"I find that the best way to get to know different people and different cultures is through their food," Carlin said. "So I've always kind of looked at food as this great connector."

For the Elawa Farms supper, Carlin wrote a menu based on the season and what produce is typically available in August. He wanted to use the night as a platform to promote Burl dishes, so many items served will be featured on the restaurant's ever-rotating menu at some point.

From grilled flatbreads with eggplant and peaches to Catalpa Grove lamb with mole verde and a fruit crostada finale, guests will get to know the spirit of Burl.

"I think that a lot of our guests are going to be people that maybe we haven't met yet," Carlin said. "We haven't really connected with the greater North Shore yet, so we're excited to get to talk with these folks."