International Chefs & Food Influencers Tour New North Region

Fifteen chefs and food influencers from nine different countries last week took part in a week-long International Chef and Food Influencer Tour, which was hosted by the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) in collaboration with UW-River Falls. The tour’s goal was to introduce prominent chefs worldwide to food producers and food products from across the state.

The visitors to Wisconsin for the tour were from South Africa, Algeria, Turkey, Kuwait, Thailand, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Paraguay, and El Salvador. Among them was Chef Ian Kittichai, known as Thailand’s ‘Iron Chef.’

New North Inc. assisted with the portion of the tour within Northeast Wisconsin, which included a cooking demonstration by the international chefs at LiveX in Green Bay. The chefs made a “creative potato dish” in partnership with the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association, after which they experienced the On Broadway Farmers Market and Gather on Broadway with Chef Jyll Everman.

Additional tour stops in the New North region were Lakeside Foods, Sartori Cheese, Stefano Group and Kohler Corporation’s Hospitality and Dining. The group also received a tour of Lambeau Field, followed by a conversation with CEO Alex Tyink of Fork Farms at TitletownTech, along with a dining and brewhouse tour at Hinterland Brewery.

The chefs and food influencers additionally toured the Oneida Nation Indigenous Foods division, providing exposure to buffalo, white corn, its vegetable farms, and cannery.

Earlier, the group visited Madison and Milwaukee. It concluded the tour by traveling to Mauston, LaFarge, Viroqua, and La Crosse.