Finalists announced for the 2024 Jean Banchet Awards, former Tribune food critic to receive highest honor.
At the January awards ceremony, Phil Vettel will receive the Culinary Excellence Award, the highest honor of the Banchets. Vettel worked as a food critic for the Chicago Tribune for over 30 years and was with the paper for 41 years total.
Three months after losing dining critic Nick Kindelsperger, the Tribune has made a hire to bolster its restaurant coverage. They didn’t hire another critic to complement Louisa Kung Liu Chu. Chu will continue in her role as the paper’s only dining critic. Instead, the Trib hired Ahmed Ali Akbar as a food reporter.