Eat Local Cooking Challenge 2024

Community members were able to purchase a mystery box filled with delicious local products. They were then invited to watch (and maybe even cook along with) two local chefs as they created amazing dishes featuring the mystery ingredients, with guest host Qwantese Dourese Winters. "I feel like it’s the best way to live – eating seasonally, making sure that you’re buying from people who live near you and are a part of your community," says Qwantese.

The Eat Local Cooking Challenge was presented by Willy Street Co-op. Each September, Willy Street Co-op makes it even easier for you to eat local. They put extra local products on sale, give away $3000 worth of local products, offer free samples of local products, and share the stories of our local farmers and vendors. Learn more at willystreet.coop/eat-local-month.

Not a Co-op member? Stop in one of their three stores and check out what we have to offer—everyone is welcome! You can join for $10 (or less if you qualify for financial assistance) and get special sales, discounts and perks.

Click here to watch a recording of the Eat Local Cooking Challenge

What was in the box?

• Crimsoncrisp & Snowsweet Apples from Atoms to Apples
• Organic Dry Beans: Navy, Great Northerns, Pinto & Dark Red Kidney Beans from Doudlah Farms Organics
• Sweet Italian Sausages from Fox Heritage Farms
• Thyme from Lovefood Farm
  
• Roth Gouda from Roth Cheese
• Basil Sparkling Shrub from Siren Shrub Co.
• Bok Choy from Tipi Produce
• Certified Organic Oyster Mushrooms from Vitruvian Farms

Meet the Chefs

Chef Anne Thundercloud a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, has been in the chef apprentice program under the leadership of executive chef and Wild Bearies founder Elena Terry since 2019. Wild Bearies, a non-profit organization, specializes in promoting Indigenous foodways through community outreach, education and catering services. You can learn more about Wild Bearies at wildbearies.org. Anne shares that as an Indigenous person to this area, she was raised by a grandmother who foraged and grew her own food. It had a huge impact on her and how she sources her food now. “Not only is it good for our local economy, it's good for our spirits,” says Anne.

Chef Paul Tseng grew up surrounded by fresh ingredients in Taiwan and developed a love for cooking in culinary school in Chicago. He gained experience in many restaurant kitchens and found a real passion in teaching! Paul now teaches classes at Willy Street Co-op. Paul loves eating and cooking with local food because you simply can't beat the freshness. He thinks low food mileage is important and local food keeps the local economy going. When he cooks with local ingredients, he feels connected to the hands of local farmers.

Watch a recording of Chefs Anne & Paul in the Eat Local Cooking Challenge

What did Chef Anne cook?

• Italian sausage bok choy boat

Chef Anne's Method

• Chef Anne first removed the sausage casing and sauteed the sausage with onions, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. She then added great northern beans, wild rice, along with sauteed apples, carmen peppers and oyster mushrooms.
• Chef Anne spooned the sausage filling over a leaf of bok choy and topped with grated gouda.

This is not a recipe but some of the chef's techniques and methods used to create these dishes.

What did Chef Paul cook?

• Stuffed red carmen pepper with red kidney beans, sausage, oyster mushrooms and gouda
• Bok choy stir fry with ginger and oyster mushrooms
• Apple crumble with ginger

Chef Paul's Method

• For the stuffed red carmen pepper dish, Chef Paul sliced the pepper in half lengthwise and blanched it. He combined red kidney beans that had been cooked with thyme, toasted oyster mushrooms and the Italian sausage, cooked in the basil sparking shrub and sliced, and placed it in the pepper half and topped with slices of gouda.
• For the bok choy stir fry, Chef Paul stir fried sliced bok choy, minced garlic, julienned oyster mushrooms, olive oil, salt and pepper until tender.
• For the apple crumble dessert, Chef Paul sauteed apples with butter and a small amount of minced ginger. He steam cooked a dough of flour and water then sliced dough pieces to combine with the apple, then topped with powder sugar.

This is not a recipe but some of the chef's techniques and methods used to create these dishes.