2026 Minnesota State Fair Theme: Bird Friendly Farming

Meet the Chefs Cooking at the 2026 Minnesota State Fair

Bird Friendly Farming is the theme of Renewing the Countryside's 2026 State Fair exhibit, and this year we're bringing that story to the plate.

For more than 20 years, RTC has brought food and farming education to the Eco Experience at the Minnesota State Fair. This year, we're exploring how the way we farm can create healthier habitat for birds while supporting farmers, local food systems, and resilient communities.

One of our favorite ways to start that conversation is through food. From rye flatbread and tree-range chicken (yes, trees!) to Ethiopian stew, Kernza® scones, Ukrainian bean salad, and Jollof rice, our 12 featured chefs are bringing their own stories, recipes, and connections to the land to the RTC cooking stage.

All chef demonstrations take place at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. each day at the Eco Experience. Along the way, you'll also find local food makers sampling their products, including Seven Sundays every day of the Fair.

Here's who you'll find cooking with us this year.

Thursday, August 27 — Patrice Johnson

Nordic Food Geek 

We're kicking off the Fair with Patrice Johnson, also known as the Nordic Food Geek. Patrice is a food writer, cooking instructor, and author of Land of 10,000 Plates: Stories and Recipes from Minnesota and Jul: Swedish American Holiday Traditions.

She loves taking traditional Nordic recipes and giving them a modern spin, while using food as a way to tell stories about Minnesota, immigration, history, and culture. She teaches cooking through the American Swedish Institute, Vesterheim, Nordic Ware, and other venues around the region.

At the Fair, Patrice will be making skillet rye Sami flatbread with herby sunflower seed pesto, charred corn, and burst tomatoes.

It's a recipe that fits this year's theme beautifully. Rye can be used as a bird-friendly cover crop, while seeds, herbs, and corn can provide food for birds. As Patrice puts it, the food on our plates can tell a much bigger story about the fields where it began.

Patrice also has a long history with RTC. The friends helping her at the Fair have been volunteering with RTC for more than 16 years!

Also sampling Thursday: Seven Sundays, Simple Sauce Co., Eli's Hot Rockin Cereal, and Peace Coffee.

Special Fair note: Peace Coffee will be giving away 600 bags!

Friday, August 28 — Katie Elsing

Katie Elsing Cooks of Crocus Hill

Crocus Hill is a Twin Cities culinary institution that has been bringing people together around cooking, food, and the kitchen for more than 50 years.

Katie has spent more than a decade working in Twin Cities bakeries and is now a culinary instructor at Cooks of Crocus Hill.  Her work includes hands-on pastry classes and helping home cooks build confidence in the kitchen.

At the Fair, Katie will be making lemon custard pie.

The bird-friendly connection starts with one of the ingredients: locally grown honey. Bees are essential to agriculture, and pollinators play an important role in the food systems that feed us.

Also sampling Friday: Seven Sundays, Gardner Family Farm, Gingerbread Village, and Cooks of Crocus Hill.

Special Fair note: Wild Farm Alliance will be giving away native seed packs.

Saturday, August 29 — Jamal Hashi

Chef Jamal Hashi

Saturday brings Chef Jamal Hashi to the RTC cooking stage. Jamal is a Somali-American chef whose work centers around food, cultural storytelling, and bringing people together.

He introduced camel meat to the Minnesota State Fair in 2010, becoming part of the Fair's food history along the way.

Jamal will be making a surprise dish!

Jamal's cooking is rooted in his Somali heritage and in the belief that food can create connections between cultures and communities. We're excited to have him back at the Fair and to share another food story with fairgoers.

Also sampling Saturday: Seven Sundays, Gardner Family Farm, and Master's Maples.

Special Fair note: Wild Farm Alliance will be giving away native seed packs.

Sunday, August 30 — Beth Dooley

Beth Dooley's Kitchen

Sunday brings one of Minnesota's best-known food writers to the RTC stage. Beth Dooley is a James Beard Award-winning food writer and cookbook author whosework haslong focused on Minnesota farmers, farmers markets, seasonal ingredients, and sustainable food.

Beth's work has always connected what's on our plates with the people and places that grow our food. At the Fair, she'll be making Tree Range Chicken Sauté with Elderberry Glaze and Hazelnuts.

Tree Range Chickens are raised in hazelnut pastures, where the birds can forage while the hazelnut trees provide cover and protection. It's a great example of the kind of relationship we're highlighting through this year's Bird Friendly Farming theme: agriculture doesn't have to exist separately from habitat.

Beth is the author of The Perennial Kitchen: Simple Recipes for a Healthy Future and co-author of The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen, among other books.

Also sampling Sunday: Seven Sundays, Gingerbread Village, and Regenerative Food Processing.

Special Fair note: Jane Jewett with Green Lands Blue Waters will be tabling.

Monday, August 31 — Shawna Bonaime

40 Century Grain

On Monday, we're going underground—to the roots.

Shawna Bonaime of 40 Century Grain is helping tell the story of perennial agriculture through food. 40 Century Grain creates approachable foods using Kernza® perennial 

grain and other ingredients, connecting what we eat with the farms and landscapes behind it.

Shawna will be making Lemon Blueberry Kernza® Scones, Fall Charcuterie Boards with Field and Fromage Perennial Granola, and Holiday Kernza® Cookies.

Kernza® is a perennial grain with deep roots that can help build healthier soil, improve water retention, and create more resilient agricultural landscapes. Because perennial crops stay in the ground year after year, they can also provide more consistent cover and nesting opportunities for birds and other wildlife.

Shawna says there's something special about connecting the story of healthier soil, farms, birds, and our food system to something as simple as a bite of food. We couldn't agree more.

Also sampling Monday: Seven Sundays, Smude's, and 40 Century Grain.

Special Fair note: Jane Jewett with Green Lands Blue Waters will be tabling.

Tuesday, September 1 — Blong Vang

Urban Roots & Cook Fresh Program

Food is something we grow and cook, but it's also something we teach and share.

Blong Vang is the Cook Fresh Program Manager at Urban Roots in St. Paul. The program teaches young people culinary skills while connecting cooking with food justice, sustainability, seasonal crops, and community.

Blong's work is a reminder that building a stronger food system also means creating opportunities for the next generation to learn where food comes from and how it gets to the table.

Blong Vang will be making a surprise dish!

Also sampling Tuesday: Seven Sundays, Regenerative Food Processing, and Clover Meadow Cheese.

Wednesday, September 2 — Rick Didora

Houndstooth Modern Tavern

For Rick Didora, food is closely tied to family, tradition, and place.  

Rick has more than 20 years of kitchen experience, from fast-casual restaurants to fine dining. At Houndstooth Modern Tavern, he focuses on farm-to-table cooking and works with local farms and makers.

At the Fair, Rick will be making Ukrainian Bean Salad, a recipe connected to his Ukrainian family heritage.

Rick's bird-friendly connection is a little different. While raw beans aren't food for birds, the plants themselves can create habitat for insects that birds eat. It's another example of why looking at the whole farm ecosystem matters—not just the individual crop.

Rick is returning to the Fair for the second time. Last year, he enjoyed talking with fairgoers about his food and the traditions he grew up with. This year, he's looking forward to making more connections beyond the demo stage.

Also sampling Wednesday: Seven Sundays, 3 Cricketeers, and Coffee Womple.

Thursday, September 3 — Carrie Frank

Carrie Frank Consultant

What does bird-friendly farming have to do with a school lunch tray? Carrie Frank is helping us make that connection.

Carrie has more than 25 years of experience in K–12 food and nutrition leadership. She began her career in Minnesota restaurants, moved into healthcare and nutrition, and eventually spent 30 years working as a school food and nutrition director. She also helped start one of the first Farm to School programs in Minnesota.

At the Fair, Carrie will be making a Mexican Greek Yogurt 5-Layer Dip using plant-based beef crumbles, a K–12 school nutrition recipe.

The main ingredient is pea protein, and the recipe highlights work to make healthy, plant-based proteins easier for schools to serve. For Carrie, the Fair is an opportunity to cook while also talking with the public about school nutrition.

Also at the 1 p.m. demo: Gary Wyatt, Extension Educator in Forestry with University of Minnesota Extension, will give a presentation.

Also sampling Thursday: Seven Sundays, Facepunch Food, and Lovejoys.

Special Fair note: Savanna Institute will be sampling native berry snow cones.

Friday, September 4 — Mimi Selam

Mimi's Cooking Class

Friday's demo takes us around the world without leaving Minnesota.

Mimi Selam teaches Ethiopian, Eritrean, Mediterranean, Asian, and Southern cuisines through community cooking classes. Her goal is to make global flavors approachable,          fun,and accessible for home cooks.

 

 For Mimi, the connection to Bird Friendly Farming begins in the field. She points to ingredients raised with healthy  crop cover and without toxic chemical sprays, helping support clean water, habitat, and food sources for birds. Her  cooking classes include Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking, handmade pasta, Asian egg rolls and dumplings. She also  offers private events and specialty products including Awaze Hot Sauce, Kochkocha green chili sauce, pistachio  cream, and Dubai Chocolate Cookies. 

 Mimi will be making Atakilt Alicha, an Ethiopian and Eritrean mild vegetable stew.

 Also sampling Friday: Seven Sundays, Gingerbread Village, and Blue Horn Tea.

 Special Fair note: Savanna Institute will be sampling native berry snow cones.

Saturday, September 5 — Katy Cassidy

Explore Healing Foods

 

  Katy Cassidy grew up in a family that gardened, hunted, fished, and made maple syrup. Respecting food and the land it came from                        was simply part of everyday life. 

That connection has followed Katy throughout her career. She studied Applied Food Studies at the Culinary Institute of America, where she developed farm education collaborations, worked on food-waste research, and focused on sustainable food development. She later    farmed and worked as a private chef in Canada before returning to Minnesota.

At the Fair, Katy will be making Tree-Range Chicken Wild Rice Soup with Tomato Broth and Nettle Rye Crackers.

Today, Katy works to support Minnesota food producers and small businesses, helping them share their products and connect with the people who eat them.

Personal Fair response: Couldn't find.

Also sampling Saturday: Seven Sundays, P&TY Granola, and Eldermoon.

Special Fair note: P&TY Granola and Eldermoon will also be at FEAST!

Sunday, September 6 — Nalini Mehta

Route to India

By the second Sunday, our food journey takes us to the intersection of food, wellness, culture, and tradition.

   Nalini Mehta founded Route to India and has taught Ayurvedic cooking for decades. Her work brings together Indian culinary traditions, Ayurveda, yoga, and wellness, using food and cooking as a way to connect people and communities.

At the Fair, Nalini will be making Bhel Puri, a popular Indian street food made with puffed water lily seeds, vegetables, herbs, sev, and chutneys.

Water lily seeds also give us a direct connection to this year's theme. They can provide a natural food source for waterfowl and other birds, making them part of the story of bird-friendly pond and wetland ecosystems.

Nalini also creates Yoga Pops, a crunchy snack made from water lily seeds. She recently renovated the Old Lyndale Creamery in Maple Plain, where she offers hands-on cooking experiences and brings together food, wellness, and community.

Also sampling Sunday: Seven Sundays, Blue Horn Tea, and MinnTofu.

Special Fair note: Wild Farm Alliance will be giving away native seed packs!

Monday, September 7 — Florence Karp

Chef Flo-K's Afric Sauce

We close out the Fair with a food story that began in Nigeria and made its way to Minnesota.

Florence Karp grew up in Nigeria, where her mother owned a small local restaurant, or buka. Florence later moved to Minnesota and created Chef FLO-K Foods, the company behind Afric Sauce.

At the Fair, she'll be making Afric Sauce Jollof Rice.

Jollof rice brings together rice, tomatoes, peppers, and other ingredients that all begin with agriculture. Florence sees Bird Friendly Farming as a reminder that the way we grow those ingredients can also help protect birds, wildlife, and their habitats.

Through Afric Sauce, Florence is also helping make African-inspired cooking more accessible for home cooks.

Also sampling Monday: Seven Sundays, Botanical Lucidity, and Bliss Cereal.

Special Fair note: Bliss Cereal will also be at FEAST!

Come see what's cooking!

From the first skillet of rye flatbread to the final plate of Jollof rice, this year's cooking demonstrations are about more than recipes. They're about the people who grow, cook, teach, and share food—and the landscapes that make it all possible.

We hope you'll stop by the RTC Eco Experience, try something new, meet a chef, sample a local food, and learn a little more about what bird-friendly farming can look like here in Minnesota.

Find us at the Eco Experience throughout the Minnesota State Fair, August 27–September 7.

Chef demonstrations: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.
Seven Sundays: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. daily
FEAST! farmers and food makers: 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

We'll see you at the Fair!

& here's a special thanks to our sponsors!