CHICAGO — French 4 students from Rochelle Township High School went to the Alliance Française in Chicago last week and absolutely loved their experience.
Lizzie Cartwright’s students took a cooking class which was conducted completely in French.  They prepared a traditional French meal of salade verte, tarte flambée and une tarte aux pommes (apple tart). For dessert: dommage, which  disappeared too quickly to photograph.
Founded in 1897, with the mandate to promote French culture in Chicago, the Alliance Française is among the oldest of cultural institutions in the city.
Throughout its history, the Alliance Française de Chicago has played host to a diverse group of guests; welcoming presidents, ambassadors, royalty, authors, film directors, fashion designers, academics and visual and performing artists to its premises.

Alliance Fran­çaise de Chicago is a concerned global citizen, having made important contributions to the war relief effort of World War I, World War II and to the reconstruction efforts afterwards. The Alliance held fundraisers for the war-time needs of the American Red Cross. Members rolled surgical dressings and knit sweaters bound for Europe in Alliance facilities.
Members of the Alliance were awarded the Légion d’Honneur for their efforts in supplying grain and supplies for devastated France after World War I. The Alliance also provided complimentary French language instruction for service men and women who were deployed to Europe at that time.
Today, the Alliance Française de Chicago hosts an array of events annually like Festival de Francophonie which begins Friday with country partners from Bénin, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, China, France, Haiti, Louisiana, Québec, Romania, Switzerland and Togo. Meet the chefs and sample the homemade cuisine tout-monde, from cochonnaille to raclette; chill out at our outdoor sugar shack, rain or snow, then shake it up on the dance floor with world rhythm music from coupé-décalé to belly dancing or French EDM.
Alliance Francaise continues its long tradition of bringing notable lecturers to Chicago. On any given day, hundreds of members and students cross the threshold.