Minnesota Farmers Union

The Minnesota Cooks program is an annual event held at the State Fair.  The program brings together local farmers with some of Minnesota's premier chefs as they demonstrate how they use farm fresh, Minnesota grown ingredients to create award-winning fare for their restaurants.

The Minnesota Cooks program consists of seven 45-minute shows with outstanding chefs from throughout Minnesota demonstrating their talents and interacting with various emcees who interview the Minnesota farmers who produced the food, as well as local celebrity tasters.

"Buying local and making the connection between where your food comes and what you put on the table is becoming more important to people these days," said Doug Peterson, Minnesota Farmers Union President.  "Minnesota Cooks is the perfect way to celebrate the great food produced in Minnesota."

The event was started by Minnesota Farmers Union.  Food Alliance Midwest, www.foodalliance.org, joins MFU in presenting Minnesota Cooks, along with major sponsorship from the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI), www.auri.org, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, www.mda.state.mn.us.

For more information on this years event on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, check out the schedule below.