Anglers & Antlers: Charlie's Smoked Whitefish and Joel's Roasted Elk Highlight a Celebration of Local Food at In Fine Spirits

The first Locavore Dinner of 2011 was a sort of homecoming for me. A couple of years ago, In Fine Spirits hosted a Unibroue beer and specialty foods pairing event that I presented shortly after the bar opened in April 2008. The private room on the second floor is a comfortable space for a communal meal, even on a brisk winter night like the one we experienced on last Monday (January 22nd). Nearly 20 committed and curious locavores joined us for a 5-course feast of local foods, plus a bonus course of stories and photos of elk presented by Joel Espe, the proud owner of Hawks Hill Elk Ranch.

This Locavore Dinner was special for another reason: the presence of products and people from Door County, Wisconsin, the birthplace of my maternal grandfather and the annual vacation destination for my family. While planning this event, I learned that In Fine Spirits' general manager and a recently-hired server hail from Sister Bay, a village of about 900 people on the Green Bay side of the peninsula. So, I promptly suggested we feature two of Door County's most well-known ingredients in our dinner menu: smoked whitefish from Charlie's Smokehouse and dried Montmorency cherries from County Ovens (Forestville, WI).

Since 1932, the Voight family has smoked fish in the tiny village of Gills Rock, located at the northern tip of the peninsula. Founder Roy Voight (1898–1974) was succeeded by his son Charlie and grandson Chris, who are the last remaining commercial fish smokers in Door County. The Voights cut, brine, wash and smoke Lake Michigan whitefish and chubs (when available), Canadian lake trout and Pacific salmon. Each year, Charlie and Chris smoke approximately 30,000 pounds of commercially-caught fish and 5,000 pounds of recreationally-caught fish. They use only Door County maple wood to smoke the fish in an artisan process that requires about 8 hours per batch. Charlie was kind enough to include an aromatic cinder of the maple wood in our shipment of whitefish, which were smoked just three days prior to our event.

During our dinner, I was so engaged in chats with our guests, Joel and Hans Sundquist (husband of chef Marianne) that I completely forgot to take photos of our food. Fortunately, Marianne provided me with a detailed description of how she expertly crafted the locally-sourced ingredients into five flavorful courses that represented nearly 15 different family farms or food artisans.

Amuse | beet tartare: truffle gelee, goat cheese mousse, citrus vinaigrette, chive, fennel pollen

Chef made the gelee with gelatin, vegetable stock and truffle oil. The beets were roasted, peeled, diced then tossed in a small amount of orange juice, lemon juice, honey, extra virgin olive oil, chive and shallot. Given the distinctive flavors of these ingredients, it requires finesse to avoid overwhelming the flavor of the roasted beets and instead enhance their delicate, earthiness. Chef made the goat cheese mousse by melting goat cheese over a double boiler, whisking-in heavy cream and then charging it in a whipped cream canister. She set the beets—topped with goat cheese mousse—in a martini glass, finished with a light dusting of fennel pollen.

One | Werp farm mixed green salad: fingerling potatoes, fennel, apple, Door County smoked whitefish

Suffice it to say chef Sundquist is a fervent fan of Werp Farms' greens and micro greens. This deceptively salad showcased Werp Farms' mixed greens and the smoked whitefish from Charlie's Smokehouse. Chef combined greens, shaved shallot, fennel and apple, fresh parsley leaves, thyme and fingerling potatoes, which were lightly tossed in a maple-balsamic vinaigrette. The salad was completed with a generous amount of hand-flaked smoked whitefish.

Two | Winter root vegetable soup: Spence Farm cornmeal crepe, za'atar brown butter, micro mache

Chef made the soup from a mixture of celeriac and purple top turnips, simmered with vegetable stock until tender, blended until smooth and then finished with a splash of Kilgus heavy cream. She made the crepes with Spence Farm White Iroquois Cornmeal and just before serving, brushed them with a light application of za'atar spice brown butter. Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend made in-house at In Fine Spirits for their marcona almonds. It is a mixture of sesame seeds, sumac and the "lemon herbs" which included thyme, marjoram and oregano.

Three | Crispy ricotta gnocchi, Hawks Hill elk ragout, parmesan, chive

Chef enjoys making elk ragout during the winter months because it takes all day, offering tantalizing aromas to the kitchen staff. It is a gentle, slow process of browning the elk meat, rendering bacon and then using the rendered fat to cook Saigon cinnamon bark, which stays in the pot for the remainder of the cooking time. Chef then added diced onion, carrot and fennel and cooked them until they were lightly caramelized. She then added minced garlic for a few minutes, followed by a bottle of Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout, beef stock and crushed tomatoes. Finally, she transferred the ragout to the oven for a slow braising over 5–6 hours at low temperature (250 'F). The long, slow cooking process tenderizes the elk meat to the point that it falls apart in the ragout.

Four | Grassfields Creamery Fait Gras cheese with Country Ovens cherry mostarda

Fait Gras cheese is a triple-cream cheddar that is made in Coopersville, Michigan (near Holland). It is semi-soft, with a mild grassy and slightly herbaceous flavor because the milk is from pastured cows. Chef made the mostarda from a simple preparation of dried Montmorency cherries from Door County, red wine, sugar and Dijon & whole grain mustards.

Five | Apple and Door County cherry crumble: balsamic sour cream, shortbread, Laack Brothers' 7-year cheddar

Following our final course, I offered a few well-deserved acknowledgements to In Fine Spirits' owner Shane Kissack (who joined us for the meal) and his staff members Anders, Anne and Zach, who offered outstanding service throughout the evening. The entire group responded with enthusiastic applause for chef Sundquist and Joel Espe, who made this Locavore Dinner as memorable as it was delicious.

Joel Espe: Featured farmer at Locavore Dinner

I'm very happy to confirm that Joel Espe of Hawks Hill Elk Ranch will join us for the Locavore Dinner at In Fine Spirits. Joel and his wife Cheri have raised award-winning, purebred elk on their family-owned operation near Monticello, Wisconsin since 2001. They practice sustainable, whole-system ranching to optimize the health of the land and the herd.


At Hawks Hill, the pastures are maintained with organic fertilizers and the grazed-then-growth cycle of native grasses prevents soil erosion. Joel and Cheri's commitment to humane elk ranching extends well-beyond their property line, as demonstrated by their effort to implement 3rd-party humane slaughter certification in Wisconsin packing plants. The integrity of the Espe's operation is reflected in the quality of their elk products. They have won of 19 national and international meat competitions, more than any other elk breeder in the U.S.

Joel has served on USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack's Advisory Council as one of 25 leading livestock producers in the U.S. He is President of the Non-Traditional Farmers and Ranchers Coalition, Past-President of the Wisconsin Commercial Deer and Elk Farmers Association and Past-President of the North American Elk Breeders Association, but he continues to serve as Legislative Liaison for this organization, which recognized him with its President's Award for outstanding service in 2010. In 2009, Joel founded the National Institute for Humane Slaughter and also received the Green County (WI) Quality of Life Award for volunteerism and community service.

Joel and Cheri participate year-round at Chicago's Green City Market, where they sell elk steaks, roasts, burgers, and brats and offer recipes, cooking instructions and samples of their delicious, award-winning elk sticks. For the Locavore Dinner at In Fine Spirits, Chef Marianne Sundquist will prepare an elk roast into a ragout, served with crispy ricotta gnocchi, Sartori SarVecchio parmesan and chive for the third course in our 5-course feast of local food.

Locavore Dinner at In Fine Spirits

I'm pleased to announce that In Fine Spirits in Chicago's Andersonville neighborhood will host the first Local Food Wisdom Locavore Dinner of 2011. The meal will be prepared and served by Chef Marianne Sundquist, who actively supports local and sustainable methods of farming by sourcing ingredients for her weekly Chef's Local Special, offered each Thursday at In Fine Spirits' bar.

Here are the event details and menu:

When: Monday, 24 January, beginning at 6:30 PM
Where: 5420 N Clark St | Map | CTA bus: #22 Clark
Cost: $75 per person (all-inclusive)
Reservations: Call In Fine Spirits' bar (773.334.9463)
Previews: EaterChicago | Chicagoist

Amuse: Beet tartare with marjoram cream and micro mache

One: Door County smoked whitefish, fingerling potatoes, mixed greens with maple-balsamic | Paired with Bell's Oarsman Ale

Two: Celeriac & purple top turnip soup with Spence Farm white Iroquois cornmeal crepe | Paired with Arcadia's Nut Brown Ale

Three: Crispy ricotta gnocchi with Hawks Hill elk ragout, Sartori SarVecchio parmesan, chive | Paired with Two Brothers' Northwind Imperial Stout

Four: Grassfields Cheese's Fait Gras, Door County cherry mostarda and freshly-baked bread | Paired with Two Brothers' Domaine DuPage French Style Country Ale

Five: Apple & cherry crumble, balsamic sour cream, Laack Brothers' 7-year cheddar | Paired with Founders' Red's Rye Pale Ale

Featured farms/producers include:

• Charlie's Smokehouse | Gills Rock, WI
• Country Ovens | Forestville, WI
• Crystal Springs Farm | Hillsboro, WI
• Gentle Breeze Honey | Mt. Horeb, WI
• Grassfields Cheese | Coopersville, MI
• Happy Farm | Hillsboro, WI
• Hawks Hill Elk Ranch | Monticello, WI
• Kilgus Farmstead | Fairbury, IL
• Laack Brothers Cheese Co. | Greenleaf, WI
• Sartori Foods | Plymouth, WI
• Spence Farm | Fairbury, IL
• Werp Farms | Buckley, MI

Please join us for this delicious, mid-winter feast of local food. Chef Sundquist has sourced most of the ingredients from Wisconsin and I'm delighted that two specialty items from Door County (smoked whitefish and dried cherries) are included in the menu. I look forward to sharing this meal—and a story or two—with you and our hosts from In Fine Spirits.

About Locavore Dinners
Launched in Chicago in 2010 by food scientist Jim Javenkoski, this monthly series of culinary events represents the convergence of locally-grown food and ol' school social learning. The dinners offer opportunities for consumers, chefs and farmers to gather and share delicious meals over casual yet informative conversations about the provenance and production of our food. Ideally, that dialog will reveal to each participant how we can collectively strengthen our local food system to provide economic, environmental, safety, wellness and justice benefits for all of us. The enduring goal of the Locavore Dinners is to enhance our food literacy and cultivate our "local food wisdom", one meal at a time.

Locavore Dinners with Sunday Dinner

I'm very pleased to announce that the fourth and fifth Locavore Dinners are sold-out. The meals will be prepared and served by Sunday Dinner, an artisan custom caterer devoted to local, seasonal and sustainable food. I've patiently pursued an opportunity to collaborate with chefs and co-owners Christine Cikowski and Joshua Kulp since I first met them in 2007... and now I finally have 'em cornered. =)

Here are the event details and menu:

When: Monday-Tuesday, 15–16 November, beginning at 7 PM
Where: Location revealed to guests with reservations
Cost: $75 per person (all-inclusive)
Reservations: Both dinners are now sold-out
Preview: TastingTable Chicago

One: Brussels Sprout Frittata with Apples, Market Greens and Creamy Bacon Dressing

Two: Chicken Soup with Wild Mushrooms

Three: Free Form Ravioli with Squash, Ricotta and Sage Sausage

Four: Leg of Lamb with Jerusalem Artichoke and Swiss Chard Gratin

Five: Apple Pecan Streusel Pie with Caramel

Featured farms/producers include:

• Green Acres Farm (North Judson, IN)
• Gunthorp Farms (Lagrange, IN)
• Mint Creek Farm (Stelle, IL)
• Nueske's Applewood-Smoked Meats (Wittenberg, WI)
• River Valley Ranch & Kitchens (Burlington, WI)
• Seedling Enterprises (South Haven, MI)

Please join us for a sense-ational feast and culinary showcase of ingredients produced by local farmers. I look forward to sharing this meal with you and our hosts from Sunday Dinner.

About Locavore Dinners
Launched in Chicago in 2010 by food scientist Jim Javenkoski, this monthly series of culinary events represents the convergence of locally-grown food and ol' school social learning. The dinners offer opportunities for consumers, chefs and farmers to gather and share delicious meals over casual yet informative conversations about the provenance and production of our food. Ideally, that dialog will reveal to each participant how we can collectively strengthen our local food system to provide economic, environmental, safety, wellness and justice benefits for all of us. The enduring goal of the Locavore Dinners is to enhance our food literacy and cultivate our "local food wisdom", one meal at a time.

Feasting with Farmers at StarGrazer Cafe

On August 20th, StarGrazer Cafe (Grayslake, IL) hosted its first-ever Locavore Dinner, which is the second in a new series of events I'm curating to enhance consumers' appreciation for locally-grown food, their knowledge of local food systems and their overall food literacy. The dinner attracted 28 guests, including the farm families from Sandhill Organics, Dea Dia Organics and Wild Goose Farm, all of whom grow food crops (and raise chickens and pigs, in the case of Dea Dia Organics) on the fertile soil of Prairie Crossing, a conservation community of 359 homes located in Lake County about 35 miles north-northwest of downtown Chicago. StarGrazer Cafe, owned and operated by chef Tim Kuck, is a sustainability-focused restaurant which opened in October 2009.

While planning the event, Tim and I agreed that the menu should maximize the number of ingredients sourced from the on-site farms, all which are located about a mile from the restaurant. The proximity of farms and forks enabled us to offer a hyper-locavore dinner in terms of distance and food freshness. The vegetables, fruits and herbs were harvested within 24 hours of the meal and delivered directly to Tim, ensuring they retained all of their nutrients and sensory qualities prior to preparation. Additionally, each course was paired with craft beers from Mickey Finn's Brewery in Libertyville, located just 4 miles from StarGrazer Cafe. Brewmaster Greg Browne joined us for the meal and offered insights about the ingredients and methods he uses to brew his beers, which were enthusiastically poured from growlers at each table during the meal.

Following my brief welcome to the guests, our dinner began with a family-style platter of three crostini featuring sweet and sour honey goat cheese, peach and scallion shredded pork and cucumber and heirloom tomato. The honey was sourced from the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and the goat cheese was hand-made at Prairie Fruits Farm and Creamery (Champaign, IL). The scallions and pork were produced on-site by Dea Dia Organics and the cucumber and heirloom tomatoes were grown by Sandhill Organics. We paired the crostini with Gudenteit Hefeweiss (5.2% ABV, 12 IBU), a refreshingly effervescent wheat ale with subtle banana/clove notes.

The second course was a delicious gazpacho made from a selection of roasted summer vegetables. The tomatoes were grown on-site by Sandhill Organics, the zucchini and yellow squash were sourced from Natural Farm Stand (Richmond, IL) and the onions and herbs were grown on-site by Dea Dia Organics. We paired the gazpacho with Hopgarden Helles (5.5% ABV, 15 IBU), a robust lager with an appealing aroma of roasted malt and yeasty bread dough.

Prior to serving the highly-anticipated entrees, StarGrazer Cafe's staff presented two salad courses, both of which included seasonal fruit. The blueberry/blue cheese/beets salad featured blueberries grown on-site at the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and a combination of red, orange and heirloom beets grown on-site by Sandhill Organics. On a hunch, Chef Tim smoked the beets over apple and cherry wood for 12 hours and the results were indescribably delicious! This successful culinary experiment has ensured that smoked beets will become a seasonal staple on StarGrazer Cafe's menu. The grilled peach and mozzarella salad was equally delightful and a perfect companion for the beer pairing. Katarina Wit (5.7% ABV, 18 IBU) is a Belgian-inspired white ale brewed with coriander, orange peel and lemon peel (and a liquid homage to the famous German figure skater). The peaches were grown in Michigan and purchased from Natural Farm Stand.

When the entrees were served, all of the guests had been happily chatting and chowing for about 45 minutes. Just by chance, each of the three communal tables for the dinner included one of the farm families from Prairie Crossing, offering all of the guests a unique opportunity to share a meal with the people who provided the food. The first entree was blueberry-rum marinated pork shoulder, prepared with blueberries from the Prairie Crossing Learning Farm and pork raised on-site by Dea Dia Organics. The companion entree was grass-fed beef tenderloin with vanilla wine sauce, featuring beef from none other than Dietzler Farms (Elkhorn, WI) and vanilla extract from Nielsen-Massey Vanillas (Waukegan, IL). Both entrees were accompanied by succotash (Swiss chard, kale, corn and torpedo onions) and roasted Peruvian blue and huckleberry (pink) potatoes, the latter of which is an heirloom variety. We paired the entrees with Dog Days Summer Ale (4.2% ABV, 25 IBU), a pale and hoppy brew with subtle floral and citrus undertones that slightly amplified the fruit and vanilla notes of the pork and beef preparations, respectively.

The final course of our feast was an almond waffle topped with peach-pecan ice cream. The dual textures and temperature contrast between the ingredients made this a scrumptious conclusion to a deliciously satisfying meal. The characteristic malty flavor of the waffle was enhanced by Legspinner Barley Wine (9% ABV, 35 IBU), a strong ale with a robustly malty and slightly fruity flavor profile.

While the guests enjoyed the afterglow of marvelous meal, I offered a few closing comments about how each of us can actively participate in our local food system by allocating more of our food dollars to direct purchases from farmers, via farmers' markets or through CSA subscriptions. In the current economic climate, all of us can contribute to a local stimulus by putting cash into the hands of our farmers. Buying locally-grown foods produces a positive, residual effect as those food dollars multiply while circulating through the community. An additional benefit of purchasing food from farmers is re-establishing a clear line-of-sight to the origin of our food. So, the goal of the Locavore Dinners extends well-beyond short-term sustenance and food-inspired conversation among the guests. My hope is that these events will focus our attention on the positive economic, environmental, social and food safety impacts we can make in our foodshed through locavorism.

I'm grateful to the farmers who grew and harvested the food for this meal and then joined us for the feast: Matt and Peg Sheaffer (Sandhill Organics), Jeff and Jen Miller (Dea Dia Organics) and Meg Runyan (Wild Goose Farm). I appreciate Kris Schroeder's effort to shoot and post several photos from the dinner. Thanks to Greg Browne for sharing his brews and wisdom with all of us. Special acknowledgment to Dr. Michael Sands (Executive Director of the Liberty Prairie Foundation), who commissioned this event and was very supportive during the planning process, as was Ben Ranney (Principal of Terra Firma Co.), who appeared to enjoy every moment and every morsel of the meal.

The dinner was filmed by Big Teeth Productions (headquartered in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood), which will release a documentary video of the event in mid-September (follow this blog for details).

Little Film on the Prairie

Prior to yesterday's Locavore Dinner at StarGrazer Cafe in Grayslake, my friends Gregg (Creative Director) and Danny (Intern) of Big Teeth Productions visited the Prairie Crossing Farm Business Development Center (FBDC) to interview some of the resident farmers, as part of the forthcoming documentary video about this event. (In May, Danny produced a documentary of the first Locavore Dinner at the Hopleaf Bar in Chicago.) Most of the ingredients which Chef Tim Kuck sourced for our meal were grown (or raised) about one mile from the restaurant, so we wanted to know more about who produces food on the fertile soil of Prairie Crossing. Our host Keith Kirley (Business Developer) of the Liberty Prairie Foundation offered us a brief tour of the farm and then introduced us to the farmers.

We interviewed Matt Sheaffer of Sandhill Organics who, with his wife Peg, grows a wide range of vegetables, herbs and flowers on a 40-acre plot of certified organic land. The Sheaffers serve an important role as mentors for the beginning farmers participating in the FBDC "incubator" program. During our interview, Matt emphasized the value of collaboration in the field: "The learning really goes both ways; there is a community aspect [at the FBDC]." Among Matt and Peg's mentees are Meg Runyan of Wild Goose Farm and Jeff and Jen Miller of Dea Dia Organics whom we interviewed, as well. Named for the Roman goddess of growth, Dea Dia Organics has operated since 2006, growing a wide variety of fresh vegetables (including baby greens, lacinato kale, heirloom tomatoes and fingerling potatoes), herbs and flowers. The Miller's heritage breed pigs (Tamworth & Hereford) freely graze on native grasses and are fed a diverse diet of grains, vegetables and fruits. Jeff and Jen also tend a large flock of Rhode Island Red chickens, which produce several dozen eggs daily.

In addition to the farmer interviews and dinner scenes at the restaurant, Gregg and Danny shot some fun footage of the pigs, chickens, hoop houses and crops in the fields at Prairie Crossing. In just over an hour, the Big Teeth team captured the essence of what is so special about this community of sustainability-savvy residents and organic farmers. I look forward to assisting Gregg with post-production on this Locavore Dinner documentary, scheduled for release in mid-September.

Locavore Dinner at StarGrazer Cafe

Following the success of the first Locavore Dinner at the Hopleaf Bar in May, I'm pleased to confirm that the second Locavore Dinner will be conducted at StarGrazer Cafe, located within Prairie Crossing (Grayslake, IL). Here are the event details:

When: Friday, 20 August beginning at 6 PM
Where: 970 Harris Rd, Grayslake, IL | Map & Directions | Metra
Cost: $75 per person (all-inclusive)
Previews: edibleChicago | Local Beet | Chicagoist

Please join us for a multi-course menu designed by Chef Tim Kuck, featuring fruits, vegetables, meats and other specialty foods sourced from three on-site organic farms and other farms located within 50 miles of Prairie Crossing. Each course will be served family-style and paired with a selected beer from Mickey Finn's Brewery (Libertyville, IL). I will be joined by Mickey Finns' brewmaster Greg Browne and we'll share insights and stories about the provenance of the ingredients and the inspirations for the food-beer pairings, while advocating the benefits of consumer participation in our local food system. Prairie Crossing is on the verge of becoming a peri-urban food hub for Chicago, so don't miss an engaging, edible opportunity to learn more about this unique Conservation Community and its commitment to sustainable local food systems.

About Locavore Dinners
Launched in Chicago in 2010 by food scientist Jim Javenkoski, this monthly series of culinary events represents the convergence of locally-grown food and ol' school social learning. The dinners offer opportunities for consumers, chefs and farmers to gather and share delicious meals over casual yet informative conversations about the provenance and production of our food. Ideally, that dialog will reveal to each participant how we can collectively strengthen our local food system to provide economic, environmental, safety, wellness and justice benefits for all of us. The enduring goal of the Locavore Dinners is to enhance our food literacy and cultivate our "local food wisdom", one meal at a time.