8th Annual Minnesota Cooks At The State Fair Entertains, Educates And Entices

On August 31, the Minnesota Farmers Union and Food Alliance Midwest will present Minnesota Cooks™, a local and sustainable cooking event at the State Fair.

Now in its eighth year, the Minnesota Cooks™ program is poised again to host a celebration of the relationships between premier Minnesota chefs and cooks, local farmers and consumers with a full day of demonstrations, discussions and sampling of delicious, sustainable cuisine. The program will begin at 9:00 AM and continue with eight hourly presentations. All shows take place on the Minnesota Cooks Stage in Carousel Park, just south of the Grandstand.

Minnesota Cooks™ brings together those who value and support our sustainable food system: farmers, consumers and chefs. On stage, these chefs and cooks will create amazing dishes using fresh ingredients supplied by local stewards of the land. As they prepare their creations, emcees JD Fratzke of The Strip Club Meat & Fish and Lori Sturdevant of the Star Tribune will engage the chefs and a taster panel of farmers and local celebrities in lively and meaningful discussions about sustainable philosophies. At the end of each demonstration, the panel, as well as fairgoers, will sample the mouthwatering, farm-fresh fare.

"I'm very proud of what this program has accomplished," said Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President and creator of Minnesota Cooks™. "We've been in lockstep with consumers' increasing concern about where their food comes from and who produces it. We're pleased to educate about not only where to purchase these products, including restaurants and retailers, but also the community connection that purchasing local, farm-fresh foods brings about."

For the first time since the inception of this important program, Minnesota Cooks™ is asking for financial support from individuals. People have asked for years how they can be involved in a more significant way and Minnesota Cooks' GiveMN page is a way to do just that.

Minnesota Cooks™ is presented by the Minnesota Farmers Union and Food Alliance Midwest, and receives major sponsorship from the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute. For more information about Minnesota Cooks™, please visit the website at www.minnesotacooks.net or contact Jill Grunewald of Food Alliance Midwest at 651-209-3382 or by e-mail at info@minnesotacooks.org.