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About Us

Tour operator founded in 2014. Our walking Chicago food tours take you further off the beaten path. We do this geographically, bypassing the tourist areas and into the neighborhoods where real Chicago lives. We do this culturally, bypassing cliché foods and highlighting the city’s culinary diversity.

We focus on locally owned businesses that are staples of their communities. We believe our country is greater when we build bigger tables, not bigger walls.


MEET THE FOUNDER

a person sitting at a table with wine glasses

PHYLLIS PETRILLI

Owner/Operator, Chicago Foodways Tours

Chicago is the food city I was I could only dream about as a child.  I moved here more than 25 years ago for a corporate job that I soon ditched for culinary school. After years of teaching cooking classes and running one of the city’s busiest gourmet delis, I wanted to reconnect with what I love about Chicago…its vibrant neighborhoods and deep cultural food roots. Our downtown is stunning, but so much of what makes Chicago great lies beyond the Loop. Let me show you around.

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