Check, Please!
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Check, Please!
I had an idea for a restaurant review show in 2001, pitched it to WTTW/11 and Check, Please! has been exploring Chicago's amazing culinary scene ever since. We've had an incredible run featuring every imaginable kind of restaurant for two decades. We've been to Senegalese, Serbian and Scandinavian spots. Peruvian, Pakistani and Puerto Rican places. Diners, delis and dim sum. We've interviewed moms & pops, siblings and superstar chefs. We've had more than 35,000 Chicagoans apply to be guests on the show; Cops, carpenters, economists, interior designers, magicians, grandmas and future presidents. I'd like to say our upcoming 20th milestone season will be our best one ever! However, WTTW/11 and I want to go in different directions and pursue other opportunities, so it's just not to be. (Stay tuned)!
I want to thank all the fabulous people from every walk of life who've appeared on Check, Please! on WTTW/11. Also, the incredible restaurants who welcomed us with open arms and fantastic food! I want to take a moment to recognize the "American Dreamers" who came from other countries, worked their way up through the industry, and serve their community. I know the best is yet to come for Chicago restaurants and it'll be exciting to see what they cook up next! Finally, to our WTTW/Check, Please! viewers, I appreciate your loyalty and passion more than you'll ever know. I hope we expanded your taste buds, helped guide you to new and interesting types of food and experiences, and brought you to parts of the city that you'd never been before.
Thank you to everyone I've worked with over the years. Our former hosts: Amanda Puck, Catherine De Orio and production team at WTTW/11, including Tom Siegal, Danny Rozkuska, Barbara Allen, Tim Jackson, Mark Anderson, Derrick Young, Erica Gunderson, Nina Cornell, Emmet WIlson, Tom Godard, Dave Moyer, Marc Shaykin, Linda Fox, Reed Marvine, Jasmine White, VJ McAleer, Anne Gleason, Charlene Acciari, Joel Cohen, Wayne Kumingo, and many, many more. My biggest thanks of all to two very important people in my life who made the show great: Our host, the smart, sensational, Master Sommelier Alpana Singh (more great things ahead!), and my Check, Please! guru, Jacqui Wedewer.
Our little PBS show started with the premise that, if we can get diverse restaurant reviews from three different Chicagoans each week, people who are different from one another, who can offer different perspectives, we can provide our audience with a trusted tour of Chicago eateries and something truly honest and genuine. I hope we accomplished that.
I'm excited for the next chapter.
Cheers!
David Manilow
Creator & Executive Producer
Check, Please!
I’m honored to have been a small part of your show’s legacy! In the years between my spots on the show, I went from a lover of food to working in the industry. Check, Please! helped me make the leap!
Thank you David! As an avid watcher, I applied, interviewed and was selected to appear on your lovely broadcast. Miss Jacqui Wedewer was terrific during the process. Through the matching process, I was pushed into upcoming seasons. I am sorry to hear it will not be. I moved to Colorado in March, 2021. Maybe you can take on the Denver food scene soon! :) Continued success. I hope we connect again.