6 Chefs Share Their Childhood Food Memories (Plus, A Can’t-Miss Event)

While we're proud of the culinary superstars who call Chicago home, we're not against sharing our kitchens with non-Windy City wizards, too. Case in point: On Thursday, May 16, local chefs and Food Network stars will gather at Terzo Piano for the inaugural Chefs' Playground, a fundraising fete benefiting The Academy for Global Citizenship. Sure, this town has seen its fair share of foodie events, but this one has a special twist: All of the eats you'll taste are inspired by participating chefs' personal childhood favorites. From Rick Bayless and Paul Kahan to Jeff Mauro and Marcela Valladolid, you can literally eat your way down memory lane.

But make no mistake — we're not talking about plain ol' mac and cheese here. These dishes have some serious grown-up inspiration behind them. So, to give you a taste of what's to come, we've got the not-so-skinny on six of the creative preparations you can try on Thursday from the chefs themselves. Who knows? They just might conjure up a childhood memory of your own.