Cooking Workshop: Recipes from the Fort de Chartres Heritage Garden with Carol Kuntz

Join us for a unique cooking workshop recreating 18th-century recipes featuring ingredients that would have been grown in a jardin potager du Pays des Illinois: an Illinois Country French colonial kitchen garden.

As part of Festival de la Francophonie 2026 and in partnership with the French Heritage Society’s French Heritage Corridor initiative, the Alliance is delighted to welcome Heritage Garden Curator Carol Kuntz for an evening exploring Illinois’ French colonial and indigenous foodways*.*

Doors at 6:00 p.m. for a welcome cocktail. Workshop at 6:30. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Non-alcoholic options will be available. Please communicate any dietary restrictions to [email protected] by Wednesday, February 25.

About the Workshop Presenter

Carol Kuntz is the Fort de Chartres State Historic Site Heritage Garden Project Volunteer Curator and a Les Amis du Fort de Chartres board member, where she interprets a French colonial kitchen garden, or a jardin potager des Pays des Illinois of the 18th-century. Since 2010, Carol’s garden work involves not only maintaining the site’s heritage kitchen garden (located near Prairie du Rocher, IL) but also researching related garden history based on the region’s French colonial and indigenous foodways, recorded historical observations, and 18th-century era recipes and publications. She has authored papers and articles on the jardin potager at Fort de Chartres and her explorations. Carol—a lifelong gardener—attended the St. Louis Community College-Meramec Applied Science in Horticulture Associate Degree program; is currently Master Gardener of Jefferson County, MO; and has over 25 years of not-for-profit experience. 

About Festival de la Francophonie

Festival de la Francophonie is the Alliance Française de Chicago’s annual flagship festival, featuring a vibrant lineup of free public programs over the course of the month of March—the official Mois de la Francophonie—celebrating the world’s French-speaking cultures. AF-Chicago is honored to partner with cultural organizations and government institutions across the city to offer high-quality cultural experiences and a forum where people of all ages and backgrounds can discover and connect with the cultures, customs, and language of the Francophone world, to promote lifelong learning and cultural understanding.

Getting Here

The Alliance Française de Chicago is one block from the CTA Red line stop at Chicago Ave. Best bus routes are the 22 on Clark and the 66 on Chicago Ave. A Divvy station is located in front of the 54 W Chicago Ave entrance.

Parking Information

$12 for 12 hours at InterPark at 100 W Chestnut St. Validation is available at reception.

Please be advised that students, members, and attendees at cultural events or programs may be photographed, and these images may be used for marketing purposes.