Cook, Neal, Cook
Published 10:37 am Monday, March 23, 2015
Neal Hull, playing the part of Forrest Gump, prepares his food just ahead of tasting at the fourth annual Foodie Throwdown Saturday night at the Hormel Historic Home. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Father, daughter’s ‘Forrest Gump’ dish wins Foodie Throwdown
Saturday was the day for food enthusiasts and those who enjoy tasting new things.
The fourth annual Foodie Throwdown took place Saturday at the Historic Hormel Home with 175 participants and six teams of food enthusiasts.
The event featured six food enthusiast teams that created food to the theme of “Taste of the Cinema.” The HHH had a social hour filled with live music by Reminisce, an open cash bar and popcorn, and food sampling led attendants to vote for their favorite dish and dessert.
“The most exciting I would say was seeing the chefs create their space based on the theme of their movie,” HHH Executive Director Holly Johnson said.
Chef Wade Kolander carries a pan full of beef and bean empanadas, fresh out of the oven.
The father-daughter team of Neal and Berghyn Hull won for the main dish. Following the theme of “Forrest Gump,” Neal and Berghyn represented characters Forrest and Jenny, and served cajun shrimp pasta.
Kristine Wolner from Hy-Vee was the winner for the dessert. Her theme of “Fried Green Tomatoes” led to southern-style food and charm when she made pecan pie with candied smoked pecans.
Johnson was excited to see all the teams get into character for the event, and all the different decorations they came up with. Movies the food enthusiasts took on included “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Forest Gump,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “The Three Amigos,” “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” and “The Flintstones.”
People who came from Austin, Fairmont, Rochester and other places seemed happy with the event and the different things they tasted.
“It was just so fun,” Johnson said. “I just heard so many wonderful comments about the food.”
Chef Kristine Wolner readies her dessert, pecan pie with candied smoked pecans, as people lined up for tasting at the fourth annual Foodie Throwdown Saturday night at the Hormel Historic Home. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
She even had one chef who participated in previous years but missed this year, come up and ask to participate again the next year. This isn’t the first year the event has drawn a large crowd, with past years drawing over 100 people as well.
Some of the food served included empanadas from “The Three Amigos” chefs, rum cake and marinated pork tenderloin from “Pirates of the Caribbean” and Brontosaurus Burgers from “The Flintstones.”
Chef Amy Riley cuts up tamarind glazed pork loins prior to tasting.
“Watching the chefs be so excited about their creations and their themes was really fun,” Johnson said.
The event started four years ago, likely due to the rise in food challenges on television and people doing more creative things in their homes, Johnson said.
Although she wasn’t around when the idea came about, she said it was likely inspired by the popularity with food hobbyists. She said there are no signs of the event slowing down; instead, the event will likely grow as the fifth anniversary comes up next year and organizers are already in talks for how to develop the event further to do a special fifth anniversary event.
People begin lining up for tasting during the annual Foodie Throwdown.
