Minnesota's Living Green Expo, taking place this weekend, May 7 and 8, celebrates ways to live and eat while supporting the sustainability and health of our planet. According to the email I received from the Living Green Expo:
The Living Green Expo is quickly becoming the place for Minnesotans to learn more about healthy and local foods. By eating locally grown products, we often get fresher, better tasting food, and we help stimulate economic development in our state. A sampling of Living Green Expo Local Food offerings include (more information follows):
- A Good Food Stage [described in more detail below], featuring top local chefs, incorporating local foods into fine fare. Chefs accompanied by celebrities and food lovers like Don Shelby, Mayor Chris Coleman, Mayor R.T. Rybak, Sue Zelickson, Rena Sarigianopoulos and Megan O’Hara.
- A Kitchen Basics Stage, showcasing simple ideas and tips for cooking local foods.
- Seminars, demonstrating more about growing gardens, eating sustainably, CSAs and other topics.
- Kids activities, teaching the basics of local foods and nutrition through crafts, arts and games.
- Local food from Big River Pizza, French Meadow Bakery & Café, Holy Land Deli, Island Noodles, Magic Bus Café, Peoples Organic Coffee & Wine Café, and Smokey’s Charbroiler.
The schedule at the "Good Food Stage" reads like a "who's who" of local restaurants and chefs. If you're interested in local food and great cooking, you could do worse than to grab a seat and camp out at the stage for the duration. Check it out:
Saturday, May 7
- 10 a.m. - Hai Truong, Ngon Vietnamese Bistro
- 11 a.m. - JD Fratzke, The Strip Club Meat and Fish (with Sue Zelickson)
- Noon - Anna Christoforides, Gardens of Salonica (with Rena Sarigianopoulos)
- 2 p.m. - Scott Pampuch, Corner Table (with Megan O’Hara)
- 3 p.m. - Raghavan Iyer, Chef, Teacher, and Author of 660 Curries (with Don Shelby)
- 4 p.m. - Marshall Paulsen, The Birchwood Cafe
- 5 p.m. - Joe Hatch-Surisook, Sen Yai Sen Lek
Sunday, May 8
- 10 a.m. - Ian Gray, Trattoria Tosca
- 11 a.m. - Carrie Summer, Chef Shack
- Noon - Derik Moran, Nick and Eddie
- 1 p.m. - Nick Schneider, Spoonriver
- 2 pm - Christopher Sitiorsk, Common Roots
It looks like a great event to me. I hope to see you there.
Lee Zukor is the founder of Simple, Good, and Tasty. Email him at lee@simplegoodandtasty.com.
