Each year, Chefs for Farmers brings in chefs to Dallas from all over the world, working with local farmers to create fantastic dishes. This year, the lauded food and wine festival celebrated its 10th anniversary, and its return following a hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. One of the chefs in attendance at this year’s Chefs for Farmers main event was Chicago’s own Lamar Moore, executive chef of Eleven | Eleven.
At the main event, Moore served delectable braised short ribs, mascarpone grits, and pickled okra.
“With southern food being at the core of my cuisine, I was inspired by the opportunity to combine my southern flare with the fresh local produce provided by the farmer with whom I was paired,” Moore tells Crave DFW.
Moore was born and raised in Chicago. He studied at Le Cordon Bleu and moved to California shortly after. While on the west coast, Moore lived between San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento over the course of seven years, before deciding to return home to Chicago.
“What I love about Chicago is that it is a huge melting pot,” Moore says. “There are so many diverse neighborhoods of food and culture. I also really love when I’m driving downtown and see the incredible skyline hitting the lakefront for a nice breeze.”
Before becoming executive chef at Eleven | Eleven, an American southern-inspired restaurant located in Chicago West Loop, Moore had stints at Smoke Daddy, Currency Exchange Cafe, Tanta Peruvian Cuisine and Hotel Sax. He also worked as a sous chef for the Chicago Bears, preparing food for 65,000 fans nightly.
He also appeared on shows like Bravo’s Welcome to Waverly and Food Network’s Chopped.
“The competition was high, quick, but it was tailgate fate during that episode,” Moore says, “and my competitor’s stadium background was high. I am so grateful for my experience on Chopped, and it meant a lot because that was my first time winning a competition.”
When he’s not in the kitchen, Moore enjoys going to the gym, riding bicycles, web surfing, hiking and watching and playing sports. He also enjoys giving back to the community. During the pandemic, Moore has made donations to Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen, and he frequently makes meal donations to Mariano’s Grocery Store in Chicago. He has also worked with Product Red by donating food to charity events and conducting demonstrations.
Moore also works as a mentor at an organization called ProStart, in he provides students with “job shadows, job placement, and speaking engagements to get students excited and more comfortable about what we do as chefs and restaurateurs.”
But more than anything, Moore loves working with his fellow chefs and industry community, and meeting chefs from various parts of the world through his travels.
“It was just great to see fellow chefs [at Chefs for Farmers] who I hadn’t seen since the pandemic started,” Moore says. “Chefs For Farmers was such a great time, and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to participate.”
