Wisconsin Foodie

- Season 4

(2015)

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 who collaborate on a special dinner: Brewer George Bregar of Company Brewing, Chef Tory Miller of L'Etoile restaurant and Chef Justin Aprahamian, owner of Sanford Restaurant. George and Justin develop a special Belgium Triple recipe.

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.

Meet Breadmaker Shawn Rediske of Water House Foods and Miller Gilbert Williams of Lonesome Stone Milling. Follow native Wisconsin heritage wheat from the field through the milling process at Lonesome Stone Milling and then baked into a delicious loaf of local love at Water House Bistro.

Travel to Madison to visit The Underground Food Collective's newest ventures. Forequarter is a restaurant that prides itself on inventive American cuisine utilizing local ingredients and products. Then, visit Underground Butcher and get a behind the scenes look at the lost art of whole animal butchery while getting a lesson on everything from sourcing local meats to butchering philosophy.

Meet Chef Karen Bell, Owner of Bavette Le Boucherie in Milwaukee, WI and get her philosophy on the old world style of new school butchery. Follow Karen to Uplands Cheese in Dodgeville, WI to meet Cheesemaker Andy Hatch. Andy tours us through his facility and farm introducing us to his whey fed pigs. Finally, catch up weeks later for an event at Bavette that will celebrate Andy's pigs and cheese.

We start off by visiting Wienkes Market in Door County. There, the Wienke family gives us a tour of their farm and market, as well as a demo of their pickling process. Next, travel to Reedsburg, WI to visit the annual fermentation fest. Donna Neuwirth, Fermentation Fest organizer, takes us on the 50 mile loop tour of art and food that is Fermentation Fest.

Travel to Mineral Point, WI to visit with one of Wisconsin's true cheesemaking treasures, Tony Hook of Hook's Cheese Company. Hook's is known for their variety of high quality specialty cheeses, with one of our favorites being the 15 year old aged cheddar. Take a tour of their cheesemaking facility and get a little insight on aging cheddars, making blue's and most importantly, the curd.

Meet Lorin Toepper, creator of the WI Grilled Cheese Championship in Mineral Point. The state's very best grilled cheese chefs compete to win the annual title of best grilled cheese in the state, take home a trophy and a WI shaped cast iron pan. Then travel to Madison to meet Alisa Toninato of FeLion Studios for a first hand look at how she creates cast iron pans in the shape of Wisconsin.

Explore some of the less traditional aspects of Milwaukee's Beer and Sausage traditional past. First, visit Glorious Malone's Fine Sausage and get a behind the scenes look at the process of making Headcheese with Daphne Jones. Then head to Cathedral Square in Milwaukee for the annual Firkin Beer Fest and some insight into what a Firkin is.

Visit the annual WMSE Rockabilly Chili Fundraiser in Milwaukee, WI. Each year, the independent college radio station holds a massive chili competition between local restaurants as a fundraiser. Follow Fire Lieutenant Schuyler Belott as he prepares his special batch of chili for the competition. Then follow 6-time Veggie chili winner Riverwest co-op as they prepare their Bloody Bean chili.

Join us as we head out to the fields to hunt for lunch. Travel to Johnson Creek, WI and visit Millford Hills to hunt Pheasant. Hunting with expert Keith Warnke, we discuss hunting as original local food and paying homage to the land. We wrap up the day by dining on pheasant prepared by chef Jason Zellner of Millford Hills.

Visit the Ishnala Supper Club in Wisconsin Dells and meet author and filmmaker Ron Faiola. Learn some of the history behind Wisconsin Supper Clubs and experience the ultimate summer supper club feast. Then travel to Praire Du Sac, WI with Ira Koplowitz of Bitterbube to visit Wollersheim WInery and talk to Winemaker Philippe Coquard about their recent venture into the world of distillation.