Wisconsin Field to Fork

Book excerpt: Farm-to-table dining has become best practice in restaurants across the nation, connecting consumers with those who make and grow their food. While farmers have diversified their crops to meet the needs of both creative chefs and increasingly adventurous home cooks, chefs have played a crucial role in bridging the gap between the field and the fork. Although states with longer growing seasons tend to take the credit for their ability to heed the call for locally grown food, Wisconsin has earned its place at the forefront of the movement. Local chefs have capitalized on the state’s bounty, offering increasingly localized seasonal menus and extending the harvest through active preservation. Wisconsin Field to Fork tells the tale of Wisconsin agriculture, not only through stories about the farmers who provide the wealth of vegetables, dairy, and livestock needed to sustain local restaurants but also through the seventy chef-driven recipes that take those products and weave magic into them. Recipes from drinks and appetizers to dessert include the summery Watermelon Cocktail Punch, Wild Mushroom and Mascarpone Tortelli, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Tres Leches Cake.