CHICAGO – The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) announces the opening of the fifth-annual award-winning Airport Restaurant Week (ARW) at O’Hare and Midway International Airports. Airport restaurants and concessionaires will put on nearly 50 cooking demonstrations in the terminals as well as specials and in-store samplings during Airport Restaurant Week.

Beginning today and for the next two weeks, ticketed passengers flying through O’Hare and Midway will get a free taste of Chicago’s world-class culinary scene without leaving the airport. ARW 2019 runs from January 25 through February 7, 2019, and coincides with the citywide Chicago Restaurant Week.

“We are thrilled to partner with some of Chicago’s best restaurateurs to showcase the delicious sampling of dining options and culinary talents our airports have to offer, which are second to none,” said Jamie L. Rhee, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA). “By hosting this award-winning event at the same time as the popular Chicago Restaurant Week, O’Hare and Midway’s concessions are bringing a taste of Chicago’s renowned culinary scene right to our millions of traveling passengers.”

Local chefs and entrepreneurs including Vosges Haut-Chocolat founder Chef Katrina Markoff, Big Shoulders Coffee founder Tim Coonan, and L’Appetito’s founder Chef Anthony Spatara highlight an impressive list of guests who will host live cooking demos at Chicago’s airports. Passengers who stop by can enjoy freshly-made samples and receive free Airport Restaurant Week goodies, like oven mitts, bamboo cutting boards, chip clips and recipe books while supplies last.

This year, Airport Restaurant Week highlights some of Chicago’s new local favorites at Midway, part of the $75 million investment to transform Midway’s concessions, which will bring 70 new food and retail brands to Midway by 2020.

Midway's schedule includes demos by Arami Sushi, Big Shoulders Café, DeCOLORES, and Nuts on Clark, among others. Midway cooking demos will occur at 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. each weekday in the Central Market, just past the security checkpoint.

O’Hare’s demonstrations will feature Burger Federation, Green Market, Summer House, and Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless, among others. O’Hare’s cooking demos will take place each weekday between the hours of 10:30 am and 2:30 pm. The stages are located in Terminal 2 near Gate E1, in Terminal 3 near Gate H3 and in Terminal 5 near Gate M7.

Samples and promotions will be available at a variety of locations at both airports. A full schedule of live cooking events and promotions are available on the CDA website at FlyChicago.com/restaurantweek. The 2019 “Airport Restaurant Week” Recipe Book is also available on the website.

Airport Restaurant Week started at O’Hare and Midway in 2015. The event received a first place award for Excellence in Airport Marketing, Communications, and Customer Service from Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA) in 2016.

For more information about Chicago Restaurant Week visit choosechicago.com/restaurants/chicago-restaurant-week.