Wisconsin Foodie

In this Wisconsin Foodie special, host Luke Zahm teams with L’Etoile chef Tory Miller to challenge three up-and-coming chefs to a farmers market cook-off. Each chef gets $60 and 60 minutes to shop the Dane County Farmers Market for ingredients they can use to prepare a dish that represents both the market as well as their personal style.

Travel to Oak Creek, WI and join Chef David Swanson at Pinehold Gardens for a pig roast. Chef Swanson is preparing a dinner on the farm for 50 people. We also meet the farmers at Pinehold Gardens - Sandy Raduenz and David Kozlowski and get a tour of their land.

Follow farmer Tim Huth of LotFotl Farm in East Troy, WI as he prepares produce for his weekly CSA & restaurant deliveries. We also visit Beans & Barley restaurant and get a behind the scenes look at how they use local produce on their menu.

Visit the annual Kohler Food & Wine experience to meet up with several top chefs and tour the area with Chef Ulrich Koberstein.

Travel from the ground to the cup and learn the story behind a cup of coffee. Meet coffee roasters around the state and hear their philosophies on roasting, fair trade and the importance of community. Then, travel with Alterra Coffee to visit farmers and see firsthand how coffee is grown and selected. Finally, we get a lesson on making the perfect Espresso with award winning barista Scott Lucey.

Follow Chef Tory Miller of L'Etoile as he and his crew travel to Willi Lehner's Bleu Mont Dairy to cook a meal for 250 hosted by Outstanding in the Field. Join Madison's Underground Food Collective as they take over the L'Etoile kitchen to put on a 100 person dinner. Finally, Myrica Von Haselberg of the food blog Horno Magico puts on a secret Valentines Day dinner at Milwaukee's Best Place.

Meet farmer Jonathan Stich of One Guerrilla Farmer. Jonathan is a new breed of farmer that not only grows heirloom products of his own, but sources from the best farmers in his community and brings it directly to restaurants like Alinea and Next in Chicago and La Reve and Cafe at the Plaza in Milwaukee. Follow Jon on one of his routes to Chicago and back - meeting his chefs along the way.

Explore Milwaukee’s North Side and meet several individuals changing the course from a Food Desert to an Urban Ag epicenter. Visit with Young Kim of the Fondy Food Center as he celebrates the market's opening weekend with a BBQ competition. Then, travel to Alice’s Garden to meet Venice Williams. Finally, visit Milwaukee’s iconic Speed Queen BBQ and get a tour from owner Giovanni Gillespie.

Visit Madison, WI for the World Cheese Championship. With over 2500 cheeses from around the world, this group of esteemed and international judges must select the top 3 cheeses in the world. Meet some of the judges that happen to also be the biggest names in the cheese industry from buyers to writers and cheesemakers to mongers.

Over the past several decades we have strayed away from small farms raising and processing their own animals. Meet a couple farmers that are reversing that trend and bringing back small scale meat processing: Steven and Darlyne Pinnow of Pinn-Oak Ridge Farms and Bartlett Durand of Black Earth Meats. Finally, visit Burgers and Brew - an event put on by REAP food Groups at Capital Brewery.

Meet a young entrepreneurial couple that makes small batch preserves, Quince and Apple. Explore their newest recipe, Tart Cherry and White Tea, and follow the cherries back to Seaquist Orchard to meet farmer and owner Dale Seaquist. Finally, take a trip to the heart of cherry country for the annual Door County Cherry Fest.

Meet three up and coming Wisconsin culinary stars that collaborate on a special dinner: Brewer George Bregar, Chef Tory Miller of L’Etoile and Chef Justin Aprahamian, owner of Sanford Restaurant.

First we visit the Ditter family at their 4th generation dairy farm, Smilaire Family Farms in Plymouth, WI. We then follow a shipment of their milk to the Sartori Cheese company where they are making their award winning cheeses, SarVecchio Parmesan and Bellavitano. Take a tour of the process with Master Cheesemaker Mike Matucheski and meet Owner Jim Sartori.

Travel to Door County to visit Waseda Farms and the Wickman House. Meet with Tom Lutsey, owner and farmer at Waseda Farms, to get his philosophy on farming and a tour of his land. Then, we travel with some Waseda chickens to the Wickman House to follow our meal from ground to plate. There, we meet owners Joe Fahrenkrug and Mike Holmes, and wrap up the day with dinner with the Lutsey family.

Meet chef Patrick DePula, owner of Salvatore’s Tomato Pies in Sun Prairie and Madison. Patrick brings us to Vitruvian Farms in McFarland to meet the upstart twenty somethings who are changing the world one tomato at a time. Then we check out the first Yum Yum Fest celebrating the Madison Area Chefs Network and featuring chefs Jonny Hunter, Tory Miller and Daniel Bonanno to name a few.

Meet Milwaukee's Gretchen Mead and discover her Victory Garden Initiative, a program in which volunteers create raised bed gardens throughout the city to promote food growth in urban spaces. Host Kyle Cherek helps build gardens and meets the lucky folks receiving them. We catch up with Gretchen four months later to see the progress at the Victory Garden's own urban farm, Concordia Gardens.

In this episode, Kyle Cherek and Jessica Bell explore the fine culinary delicacies of the Wisconsin State Fair. From maple-glazed pork belly wrapped in bacon to the iconic cream puff, explore all the fair has to offer.

Kyle visits the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute in East Troy, touring the grounds and sitting down to a white-linen dinner prepared by Tyler Sailsbery of the Black Sheep. This episode also profiles Dan O’Leary, who has been caring for the bees of Michael Fields for 15 years.

Kyle and Jessica travel to Door County to feature two successful food families making their mark in the region. At the Wild Tomato, Kyle tries his hand at making wood-fired pizza. In the second segment, Kyle and Jessica meet Bob and Yannique Purman, owners of Island Orchard Cider.

Visit three innovative Viroqua businesses. Eric Weninger and Bree Breckle of B&E’s Trees show how they craft Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup, the crew at Wisco Pop explains how they make soda with natural ingredients, and Scott Lucey from Kickapoo Coffee Roasters serves up latte art.

Visit Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. in Chilton to learn about the age-old, hands-on process of making barley into malt. Then travel to Amherst to get a behind-the-scenes tour of Central Waters Brewing Co. and sample unreleased stouts.

Visit the award-winning, energy-supplying, cheese-making facility Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese to see how the facility is a shining example of “big dairy” done right. George Crave offers a tour of the facility and explains how their methane energy is distributed to the community.

Explore some of Door County’s newest culinary destinations! Meet owners Ryan and Chris of Discourse Coffee’s “liquid workshop” for the ultimate tasting of coffee in the most unique forms. Then, owner Sarah Holmes tours through the exquisitely crafted menu at Trixie’s, sister restaurant to the Wickman House.

Go behind the scenes at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee to get a rare peek into a rock star kitchen. Each night, Chef Kevin Sloan and his crew cook for a new band. Join Chef Sloan and Cole Ersel as they pick up ingredients and prepare dinner for tonight's musical guests: Lake Street Dive.

See how local chefs and farmers work with Milwaukee Public Schools to teach students about cooking. Jennifer Bartolotta and Chef Dan Jacobs from DanDan take a group of students to Turtle Creek Gardens in Delavan. Later, the students use veggies from the farm in a class cooking competition.

In this episode, we meet up with award-winning Chef Tory Miller at Sujeo, his Korean inspired restaurant. Host Kyle Cherek and Chef Miller head to the woods with hunting guide Keith Warnke and friends to learn about hunting a turkey for their dinner. The group heads back to Sujeo, and Tory prepares a fresh turkey in multiple ways while utilizing the whole bird.

Host Kyle Cherek meets chef Joe Muench, co-owner of Milwaukee’s popular restaurants Blue’s Egg, Maxie’s and Story Hill BKC. Muench offers a tour through all three restaurants, sampling dishes along the way. Each restaurant not only focuses on comfort foods but also on sourcing quality ingredients while transforming and expanding Milwaukee's palate.

Travel to Wausau and meet Will Hsu of Hsu Ginseng. Wausau is known for its abundance of American Ginseng, both wild and farmed. Take a behind-the-scenes look at the world of ginseng and learn what makes it so popular, how it’s cultivated, and the different ways to incorporate it into your recipes.

Host Luke Zahm travels to Sheboygan — home to world-class brats and hard rolls. Luke visits Miesfeld’s Meat Market to try his hand at making — and eventually eating — their Grand Champion Bratwurst. He also meets third-generation owner Chuck Miesfeld.

Luke Zahm heads to Milwaukee to take part in a charity dinner to help fight Kennedy’s disease. Along the way, Luke picks up ingredients from The Conscious Carnivore in Madison. He also stops at the Fauntleroy in Milwaukee, where he talks with co-owner and chef Dan Jacobs.

Host Luke Zahm stops by the Cameron Park Farmers Market in La Crosse and chats with Bao Xiong, a Hmong immigrant whose family has been farming in the area for almost two decades. Next, chef Adrian Lipscombe invites Luke to the Uptowne Cafe & Bakery for a southern-style breakfast.

Meet Jessica and Erika Jones of Giant Jones Brewery in Madison. This independent woman-owned brewery uses 100% organic methods to create “big” beers. Next, catch up with Chef Dave Heide, owner of Liliana’s Restaurant. During the pandemic, he repurposed his shuttered Madison space to create weekly Nom Nom Nom Boxes — meal kits utilizing ingredients from local farmers.

The Tandem in Milwaukee is known for world class fried chicken and its connection to community. Owner Caitlin Cullen handled COVID-19 closures by serving free meals to those in need. In Lancaster, Kevin Jahnke is a 4th generation dairy farmer. Taking over from his dad, he transitioned to 100% organic. The hard knocks dairy industry has him diversifying by growing organic hemp for CBD products.

The Tornado Room is one of the last standing classic supper clubs in the Madison area. Owner Henry Doane discusses his concept of the perfect supper club and shares their famous ribeye steak dinner. Next, head out west to Elmaro Winery in Trempealeau to visit owners Laura Roessler and her mother Lynita Docken to see first hand how they produce award winning wines with Wisconsin grown grapes.

Head to Stevens Point to visit Siren Shrub Company, home of the Door County Cherry Shrub. Siren gets ingredients for their shrubs — nonalcoholic drinks that incorporate apple cider vinegar, sugar and a fruit, root or herb — from local farms, like Whitefeather Organics. Tony and Laura Whitefeather invite everyone to their farm for a pizza night.

Travel to the “Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA,” – Monroe, Wisconsin – to meet Madeline Kuhn, a cheesemaker at Emmi Roth. There, host Luke Zahm tours one of the largest cheese caves in the state. Then head to Richland Center’s Anaway Place cabins where Zahm puts on a multi-course dinner influenced by the property and its natural surroundings.

In this special episode, host Luke Zahm is joined by his son Silas and executive producer Arthur Ircink’s son, Ilija. The trio zigzag across Wisconsin to find the best representation of gelato, ice cream and custard in the state. They stop at Baron’s Gelato in Sheboygan, Pearl Ice Cream in La Crosse and Leon’s Frozen Custard in Milwaukee.

Calderone Club owner and chef Gino Fazzari has cornered the market on pizza in Milwaukee. His family can lay claim to the original pizza recipe in Milwaukee. Fazzari also owns San Giorgio, a certified Neapolitan wood-fired pizza restaurant. Host Luke Zahm stops by the restaurant to determine his favorite style of pizza.

Chef Yia Vang runs Union Hmong Kitchen in Graze Provisions + Libations food hall in Minneapolis. Vang’s goal is to make Hmong food more approachable for American diners while also paying homage to his family and their history. Host Luke Zahm joins Chef Vang at his new concept, Vinai, and hopes to bring Vang back to Wisconsin to cook at Owl Farm.

Each spring, Tiernan Paine of Tree-Ripe Fruit Co. makes the journey from Milwaukee to Fort Valley, Georgia, to source millions of peaches straight from the branch making their way back to your kitchen table. Host Luke Zahm tags along for the cross-country trek to find out why and how the Pearson Farm produces the best peaches in the world.

Host Luke Zahm visits Bootleggers Lodge in Tomahawk, which has a long culinary history in Wisconsin dating back to prohibition. During Luke’s visit, Bootleggers owner Brian Hollnagel and chef Maja Holcomb have invited Michelin-Starred Swedish chef Håkan Thörnström to cook a dinner incorporating Wisconsin ingredients with a Swedish twist.

Host Luke Zahm heads to Lone Rock to meet up with Heidi and Julian Zepeda of Tortilleria Zepeda, purveyors of authentic Mexican corn tortillas. Julian walks Luke through the process called “nixtamalization,” from dried kernel to steaming fresh tortilla. Back at The Owl Farm, Luke prepares carne asada with fresh tortillas from Tortilleria Zepeda.

Host Luke Zahm visits ZimKnives in Milwaukee to meet knife maker Nate Zimmerman, who specializes in hand forging knives for some of the best chefs in the Midwest. Together, Luke and Nate craft a custom chef’s knife for Luke, which is later used to create the ultimate seasonal recipe, beef bourguignon.

Luke Zahm journeys along the Mississippi River to Chef Shack in Bay City, Wisconsin, where co-owners Carrie Summer and Lisa Carlson craft world-class cuisine with local ingredients. From food trucks to seasonal tasting menus, Luke discovers the passion, creativity and dedication that makes Chef Shack a culinary gem.

Luke Zahm visits Three Brothers Farm in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where Michael and Courtney Gutschenritter balance sustainable farming with family life. Luke follows the eggs to Uncle Wolfie’s Breakfast Tavern in Milwaukee, where owners Wolfgang Schaefer and Whitney McAllister explain how these exceptional ingredients elevate their dishes.

Luke Zahm explores the magic of Kwik Trip’s iconic Glazers, touring the La Crosse bakery where 47 million donuts are made annually. At the Owl Farm, Luke turns Glazers into a decadent bread pudding using only Kwik Trip ingredients, proving these beloved donuts are as versatile as they are delicious!

On Milwaukee’s Martin Luther King Drive, Luke visits Kinship — home to a café, urban farm and food center. He reunites with Chef Caitlin Cullen to explore scratch cooking, workforce training and dignity-centered food access — from cult-favorite fried chicken sandwiches to meals grown and shared with the community.

Fresh off Top Chef Season 22, Kat Turner returns to Door County to cook a hometown dinner at the Dörr Hotel. She visits iconic local cherry growers and producers, whitefish smokers and wild foragers, then links up with fellow Top Chef chefs to prepare a five-course, globally inspired yet Wisconsin-rooted meal.

At Kingston Creamery Co-op, Amish cheesemaker Nelson Schrock reveals how hand-milked cows and regenerative agriculture create award-winning blue cheese. The journey continues at Owl Farm, where Luke and Sanford (Milwaukee) Chef Justin Aprahamian transform Kingston blue and local ingredients into a transformational farm-to-table dinner.