by Jolene Ketzenberger | Sep 6, 2024 | Updates
Fall is a great time for food fests and events, and we hope you’ll take a look at our culinary calendar. In every newsletter, we highlight 15 foodie events around the state – five each in the northern, central and southern areas of Indiana. In this edition, we’ve got everything from the Nappanee Apple Festival up north to the Fork in the Road BBQ competition in Terre Haute to the Mitchell Persimmon Festival in southern Indiana.
Looking ahead, we hope you’ll put An Evening with Five Chefs on your October calendar. An Ivy Tech fundraiser, it features five top Indy chefs and raises funds for the Greg Hardesty Scholarship.
Organized by the Greater Indianapolis Chapter of the American Culinary Federation and hosted by chef Eli Laidlaw and the Alexander Hotel, this chef-curated event showcasing the art, architecture and agriculture of central Indiana has been reimagined as an ever-evolving culinary experience.
This year, the chefs will create their dishes in the Market Table at the Alexander where guests can watch the dishes come together while interacting with the chefs. This casual culinary experience is designed to immerse diners in the kitchen ambience as they chat with the chefs and gain a new appreciation for their craft.
Tickets for An Evening with Five Chefs are available here.
And don’t forget the Perfect Bite Championships on Sept. 22. You can still get your tix here.
We’ll see you there!
by Jolene Ketzenberger | Jul 25, 2024 | Updates
When the World Food Championships come to Indianapolis in November, the local culinary community will be well represented. Two more Golden Tickets to the Nov. 8-12 event were awarded at recent culinary competitions.
Pitmaster Dave White of Great White Smoke in Bloomington took top honors at the Famous Dave’s All-Star BBQ Series in Louisville recently and won a Golden Ticket to compete in the barbecue category at the World Food Championships.
Chef JJ Boston of Chef JJ’s in downtown Indianapolis also won a Golden Ticket at the Holy Cross Wine & Cheese Festival’s grilled cheese throwdown and qualified to compete in the sandwich category of the championships.
The World Food Championships will take place at the new Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Nov. 8-12. The event is the largest food sport competition in the world and draws more than 1,500 competitors from across the country and around the world. For more info, check out WorldFoodChampionships.com.
by Jolene Ketzenberger | Jun 27, 2024 | Updates
As we continue to count down to the World Food Championships in November, we’re happy to have more local competitors to root for. The WFC recently provided Golden Tickets to the winners of two local food competitions, Zoobilation and the Eastside Games culinary competition.
At this year’s Zoobilation fundraiser at The Indianapolis Zoo on June 14, more than 70 restaurants provided the food for the 5,500 guests who attended the Midwest’s largest black-tie fundraising event. A cadre of judges traversed the zoo to taste all entries, scoring them on taste, visual appeal and creativity.
As the blue ribbon winner in the entrée category, Bibibop Asian Grill took home a Golden Ticket to the World Food Championships in November.
At the Eastside Games culinary competition on June 17, local chefs and home cooks competed in a battle that included last-minute curveballs and bonus ingredients, in addition to the theme ingredient of pork loin, provided by Indiana Pork. Judges used the World Food Championship’s E.A.T. methodology that focuses on execution, appearance and taste.
Kan-Kan chef Travis Hitch took first place in the professional chef category and won the competition and a WFC Golden Ticket with his Chinese barbecue pork loin steam bun.
We’re looking forward to cheering on all our Team Indiana competitors in November!
by Jolene Ketzenberger | Jun 14, 2024 | People, Q&A
Columbus, Ind., native Daniel Orr left Indiana for culinary school, and his career took him around the world, from Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe to some of New York City’s top fine-dining establishments. In 2008, he came home, embraced his “inner Hoosier,” as he says, and opened FARMbloomington. Located right downtown on Kirkwood Avenue in Bloomington, the restaurant features a farmhouse vibe, an award-winning burger and his great-grandma’s buttermilk biscuits.
For those who’ve never been, how would you describe the food at FARMbloomington?
Our concept is “Local Ingredients with Global Flavors.” We work with local farmers, foragers, growers and grain producers as much as possible and create a menu with techniques and recipes from my travels to France, Belgium, Great Britain, the Caribbean as well as from chefs I’ve worked with from Japan, India, Brazil and many other cultural and ethnic cuisines.
I know you do a lot of foraging yourself. Do you have a favorite ingredient you look forward to?
Mushrooms are always a fun one to forage for, and I’m a certified mushroom hunter, but I love day lilies, wild garlic mustard, chickweed, wild garlic and onions, red buds and dandelions.
How did you decide to become a chef?
My parents were kind of like hippies without the drugs. They made their own soaps, wine, jams, jellies and preserves. We always had a huge garden and fruit trees and bushes, and as kids we were sent in the woods to harvest wild berries and other goodies. It was a natural progression to getting in the kitchen with my mom and grandmothers to help with the cooking and man the grill with my father. My first job in the kitchen was with Max and Christine Lemley at the Walnut Room in Columbus, Ind., and I also worked with chefs Jim and Claire Gregory for Irwin Miller, the owner of Cummins Diesel also in Columbus. After that I went to Johnson & Wales in Providence, R.I., and was a teaching assistant and fellowship instructor before starting my work life in New York City, Europe and the Caribbean before returning home to Indiana.
You’ve worked in fine dining restaurants in New York City — do you miss it?
I loved using the high-end ingredients and imported wild game. I also miss working with a large crew of of kitchen staff holding down a kitchen full of different stations. I loved the hustle and bustle of NYC. It was great to meet up with chefs from all over the city at the late-night chef hangouts.
Is there still a future for fine dining?
The restaurant business is cyclical. I believe it will come back strong in the future but with changes in the way it is served and presented on menus. The days of dressing up in a suit and tie to go to dinner are over. I think fine dining still exists in smaller, less formal settings.
In addition to FARMbloomington, what else are you up to?
I love working on cookbooks. I now have five, and I’m working on one about cooking for aging loved ones with dementia.
What do you like to cook at home?
When cooking for myself, I cook a lot of lean proteins and veggies. I love fresh fruit of all kinds. When the weather is nice, I love to grill. When I have folks over, things can get a lot more extravagant and usually themed around a cuisine from a far-away destination.
Any favorite fast foods or late-night indulgences?
Usually, it is mistakes from the restaurant, often made into a sandwich or salad. I try to eat as healthy as possible, but there are times I break down and go for take-away or a pint of sorbet.
Are there certain items that are always in your refrigerator?
All kinds of condiments from around the world, cheeses, yogurt, diet tonic, juices, fresh fruit and cooked proteins that I make on my day off.
For more on Chef Daniel, his restaurant, cookbooks, spice blends and more, check out the FARMbloomington website.
by Jolene Ketzenberger | May 30, 2024 | Updates
As the school year wraps up, all of us here at Culinary Crossroads would like to congratulate our first two Hardesty Scholars on a great year!
Working with the Hardesty family and Ivy Tech Community College, Culinary Crossroads awarded the first Chef Greg Hardesty Scholarships to culinary students Ethan Wise and Katherine Aliff for the 2023-24 school year. Honoring the legacy of late Chef Greg Hardesty, the scholarships are awarded annually to Ivy Tech culinary students who demonstrate talent, leadership and dedication to the craft of cooking. Chef Hardesty, who passed away in the spring of 2021, left an indelible legacy through the training and mentoring of many of Indy’s premier chefs.
Ethan Wise of Covington, Ind., credits his mom with starting him on his culinary journey. From helping at home with meals to making dinner himself and eventually starting his own baked goods business, Ethan developed a passion for the culinary field and has a goal of owning his own business. He currently cooks at The Local, a farm-to-table restaurant in Covington and volunteered at our Culinary Crossroads Spring Dinner Series.
Baking has always been a part of New Ross, Ind., resident Katherine Aliff’s life, and she has known she wanted to pursue a career in culinary arts since sixth grade. Aliff says her goals in the culinary and baking pastry industry are to work as a pastry chef in a restaurant or hotel and gain experience to eventually own her own bakery or cafe.
Another round of scholarships will be awarded for the 2024-25 school year, noted Culinary Crossroads founder and director Larry Dickerson, with a goal to expand to other Ivy Tech campuses.
“Chef Greg Hardesty was a mentor in the Indianapolis culinary community, and we are proud to celebrate the legacy he created,” said Dickerson.
