Every year for half a decade, Northern Michigan’s foodies have gathered at the Epicurean Classic in Traverse City to learn more about cooking, engage with new cookbook authors and enjoy great foods and beverages. This year, MyNorth.com the online home of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine joined in by sponsoring the Great Lakes Mis en Place Reception. Our food editor and editor of her own Cottage Cookbook: Recipes for Summer Up North, Emily Betz Tyra launched the festivities that celebrated the Midwest’s incomparable bounty of fruit, produce, meat and fish with innovative dishes prepared by renowned chefs from around the Great Lakes region.
Not to be left out, Michigan’s acclaimed wines, beers, and spirits put the finishing touch on home-grown goodness par excellence. This walk-around reception will featured original recipes from Chicago’s Carlyn Berghoff, Chris Turano, along with Toronto’s Ted Reader, and Michigan based Rick Halberg, Eric Villegas, Eric Patterson, Jennifer Blakeslee and Ralph Humes. We enjoyed medal-winning wines from L Mawby, Black Star Farms, Left Foot Charley, Shady Lanes, Longview, Bowers Harbor Vineyards, Chateau Fontaine, Good Harbor Vineyards, Two Lads and many others. Beer aficionados will take delight in styles offered from Jolly Pumpkin, Short’s, and New Holland breweries.
Based in Traverse City, Michigan, the Traverse Epicurean Alliance is an educational organization dedicated to creating greater awareness of, and appreciation for, food, wine and brewing artisanship, primarily through the presentation of the annual Traverse Epicurean Classic in September. It was founded to benefit the Great Lakes Culinary Institute via student scholarships and interaction with the world’s finest chefs and wine industry professionals.
Note: Emily Betz Tyra produces a free email newsletter called Food & Wine Up North each month. Subscribe to Food & Wine free. Or read select back issues at https://mynorth.com/food-wine/newsletter/.