Elgin Community College Culinary Arts to Host Six-Course Wine Dinner, ‘Flavors for Flights’ to Support Student Study Abroad

Guests will indulge in a six-course dinner paired with wines from Frog Leap Winery during Elgin Community College’s (ECC) Flavors for Flights Wine Dinner on Friday, October 30, 2026. The event will feature dishes prepared by ECC culinary instructors and served by culinary students, with proceeds supporting the Culinary Study Abroad program.

“All event proceeds benefit the Culinary Study Abroad program, expanding students’ education beyond the classroom,” said Jenn Loiacano, director of Spartan Terrace. “The community’s support really helps fund this learning experience for students.” 

The event will be held at ECC, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin, in Building H’s Arts Center. 

Guests will hear directly from Chef Lucas Wagner, Chef Jim Guzzaldo, and Tommy Hensel about their creations and learn how the wines are paired with each course. 

MENU:

Course One

• Sea scallop carpaccio, black truffle, hibiscus gastrique, and smoked sea salt paired with a 2025 La Grenouille Rougante from Mendocino

Course Two

• Surf-n-turf of seared pork belly and butter-poached monkfish, rye berry pilaf, white chocolate beurre blanc, fermented red bell pepper, and compressed melon paired with a 2024 Sauvignon Blanc, Concrete Aged, from Rutherford, Napa Valley

Course Three

• A soup and salad pairing of butternut squash mulligatawny with gorgonzola cheese foam, frisee salad with preserved figs, fine herbs panna cotta, and salt and pepper cashews, paired with a 2022 Merlot from Rutherford, Napa Valley, and a 2023 Zinfandel from Napa Valley

Course Four

• Red oak-grilled onglet steak, yam fondant, hickory-smoked chuck flap, roasted beet, buttermilk salsify, mustard greens, and cherry “barbeque,” paired with a 2022 Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford, Napa Valley

Course Five

• A cheese course refresher of raclette on sesame semolina bread, apple-onion tart with goat cheese foam, blackberry citrus sorbet, and very local maple paired with a house thyme-infused apple kombucha

Course Six

• Baked pear with roasted corn butter cake, fermented blueberry coulis, caramel corn, and cream cheese Bavarian paired with a 2023 Chardonnay “Shale and Stone” from Napa Valley

To maintain the integrity of the chefs’ creations and ensure prompt service, ECC’s Culinary Arts team respectfully declines requests to eliminate or change items.

Tickets are available for purchase at the ECC Arts Center website or by calling the ECC Box Office at 847-622-0300.

General questions can be directed to the Director of Spartan Terrace, Jenn Loiacano, by calling 847-214-7822 or by emailing spartanterrace@elgin.edu. 

Media inquiries can be directed to news@elgin.edu.