CONTACT: Jim Ennis, Food Alliance Midwest, 651-265-3684;
Les Heen, MFU, 612-669-7908

8/15/06
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn.— What could be more Minnesotan than a fried cookie-on-a-stick? How about a Minnesota-grown meal, made of locally grown ingredients and prepared by the state’s own award-winning chefs? The fourth annual Minnesota Cooks program will take place at the Minnesota State Fair on Tuesday, Aug. 29, in Carousel Park—just west of the Grandstand Ramp—from 11a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Minnesota Cooks will bring together 14 of the region’s best chefs to demonstrate how they use locally-grown fruit, vegetables, herbs, meat and dairy products to create award-winning, mouth-watering fare.

“The State Fair is the place to show consumers how they are connected to that food,” said Minnesota Farmers Union President Doug Peterson. “They will hear farmers explain how the food is grown, and see it prepared in really creative ways.”

The chefs represent a wide range of cuisines—and they come from both the Twin Cities and throughout rural Minnesota. But they have one thing in common: they believe passionately in local foods. Andrew Zimmern, internationally recognized television and radio personality, food writer and teacher (Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, the Travel Channel, KMSP Fox 9 Morning News and the host of Chowhounds, the weekend talk show on 100.3 KTLK), will emcee the event, interviewing the chefs as well as the local farmers who produced the ingredients.

A panel of celebrity tasters will sample the chefs’ creations and the audience may have the chance to taste a few samples as well.

Also available at the event will be copies of the 16-month local foods calendar created by Renewing the Countryside, Farmers Union and Food Alliance Midwest. The calendar is packed with beautiful photographs, recipes, and profiles of Minnesota chefs who use local foods, and the producers who supply them. The calendar will also be available at the Minnesota Farmers Union booth throughout the rest of the Fair.

“The demand for foods grown in environmentally and socially responsible ways has grown dramatically,” said Jim Ennis, Director of Food Alliance Midwest. “Restaurants, grocery stores, colleges, and hospitals are responding to these changes in the marketplace. This event, along with the new calendar, highlights leading chefs and farmers who are bringing local, farm-fresh and healthy foods to their customers.”

The event is co-sponsored by Minnesota Farmers Union, Food Alliance Midwest — a joint project of Cooperative Development Services and the Land Stewardship Project — and Renewing the Countryside.

Minnesota Farmers Union (http://www.mfu.org) is a nonprofit membership-based organization working to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life of family farmers and ranchers and rural communities.

Food Alliance Midwest (http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/programs_mwfa.html) is a nonprofit, third-party certification program for environmentally friendly and socially responsible agricultural practices, and is dedicated to promoting the expanded use of sustainable farming systems in the Midwest. Food Alliance Midwest is an affiliate of Food Alliance, based in Portland, Ore.

Renewing the Countryside (http://www.renewingthecountryside.org) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide inspiration, ideas and assistance to individuals and communities who are looking for sustainable ways to strengthen their rural communities and reduce poverty.

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