Workshop Highlights

Food leaders gathered from places as far away as Atlanta, Portland, Houston and Montreal. Attendees led each other in hands-on workshops, panels and lectures, and intimate conversations.

Bourbon & Ham Tasting

Sara Bradley paired Kentucky bourbon with country ham in what might be the most epic tasting workshop in Eat Retreat history.

Food Media

We got pro styling tips from Elle Scott, Julie Zyromski and Rebecca Stumpf ; pitching advice from writers Rachael Narins and Anna Roth; and connected the dots with media mavens Jenn de la Vega and Christine Liu.

Mushroom Foraging

We hunted for mushrooms with long-time forager Bob Lesnikoski and enjoyed the spoils during brunch on our last day together.

Bitters & Cocktails

Happy hour included lakeside cocktails by Genevieve Brazelton and a deep dive into bitters with Lauren Nischan.

Domestic Cheese Tasting

Eat Retreaters ate their way across a domestic cheese board curated by Alex Jones, considered Midwestern Foodways and debated the future of our national food culture.

Trout Fishing

We visited a local Wisconsin trout fishery to learn about aquaculture and catch our dinner.

Pie Baking & Sourdoughs

Bakers Susan Reid and Rose Lawrence taught us about crusts, ferments, and working with grain.

The Talent Show

Poetry and tap dancing, puppetry and twerking… it turns out, Eat Retreaters’ skills go way beyond the kitchen.

Gathering sets the stage for the countless future projects, ideas, and collaborations that will come from the relationships formed in a particular place and time when we meet, eat, drink, and depart as changed people.Cortney Ahern, Eat Retreat Alum

Read Cortney’s account of Eat Retreat Midwest on the Slow Food Blog.