Tickets sales for 7th annual Artisan Cup & Fork are now closed!

Saturday, October 1, 2022  |  6-9 PM | Orpheum Theater  |  Champaign, IL

Notice: Ticket sales officially closed at 11:59 PM on Friday, September 23, 2022.

If you have quetions, please contact Development Director Dana Vollmer at [email protected].

2022 EVENT INFORMATION

WHAT: The Artisan Cup & Fork

Join us for THE local food event of the year! The Artisan Cup & Fork is a celebration of local food and the people who make our meals possible. Local chefs will team up with central Illinois farmers to compete for the most delicious locally-sourced dish they can dream up! Come taste each of the dishes, along with desserts from local bakers, and cast your vote for your favorites. You’ll also enjoy cocktails and mocktails crafted from local ingredients, beer from local breweries, raffles, small games and more!

WHERE: Orpheum Theater (formerly Orpheum Children’s Science Museum)

346 N. Neil St. Champaign, IL 61820

TICKETS SALES ARE NOW CLOSED:

Individual tickets: $75

Bundle and save: 4-pack of tickets available for $280 (That’s a savings of $5 per ticket!)

Reserve a table: 8-pack of tickets available for $560 (That’s a savings of $5 per ticket!)

Refund policy
If you are no longer able to attend and need to cancel your registration, please contact us at 217-840-2128.

• Cancellations made up until two weeks prior to the event will receive a full refund minus a $5 processing fee
• Cancellations made up until one week prior to the event will receive a 50% refund
• Cancellations made the week of the event are not eligible for a refund

COVID-19 policy

While participating in events held by The Land Connection, consistent with CDC guidelines, participants are encouraged to practice hand hygiene, “social distancing,” and wear face coverings to reduce the risks of exposure to COVID-19 or other illness. By submitting your registration, you acknowledge and understand that participation includes possible exposure to illness from infectious diseases. You release, waive, and forever discharge any and all liability, claims, and demands against The Land Connection and its affiliated partners, sponsors, employees, agents, and directors from exposure to illness from infectious diseases and any and all bodily injury, illness, death, or medical treatment that may arise from your participation with this event.

CHEF TEAMS

Chef Team #1:

Weird Meat Boyz

Thoughtfully irreverent in nearly all respects, the Weird Meat Boyz use their eclectic cooking style to celebrate life, their friendship, and the impossibility of meaning in a meaningless universe. Due to an utter lack of formal training, the boyz are as comfortable cooking on a commercial flat top or over a raging fire as they are cooking in your home kitchen, should you invite them over. They started by slinging singularly unique hot sauce and condiments in 2021, and then started serving elevated drinkin’ food out of the bar Collective Pour in 2022. They prize traditional techniques, innovative content, and provocative flavors.

DISH

Pulled Pork Kimchi Ramen
Handmade noodles in a traditional tonkatsu broth, topped with shredded pork shoulder marinated and braised in goat yogurt and beer, quick kimchi Joseon Shorty Cucumbers and Chamoe, and half of a soft boiled egg. Garnished with kkaennip and Korean Cosmos flowers. 

Braised Mushroom Kimchi Ramen (VEGETARIAN OPTION)
Handmade noodles in a vegetable broth, topped with Lion’s Mane mushrooms marinated and braised in goat yogurt and beer, quick kimchi Joseon Shorty Cucumbers and Chamoe, and an optional half of a soft boiled egg. Garnished with kkaennip and Korean Cosmos flowers.

Produce: Humbleweed Farm
Meat: Sunset Acres
Eggs: Joyful Wren Farm

Dairy: Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery
Grain: Janie’s Mill

Chef Team #2:

Homegrown

Homegrown is the latest venture of Chef Ryan Rogiers and his wife Abbie Layden-Rogiers, who became known for their high quality farm-to-table cuisine at The Wheelhouse in St. Joseph. Both are natives of St. Joseph and are excited to share their culinary passion with the Champaign/Urbana community. Key to their operation is the use of organic farms that practice regenerative agriculture processes. Unique to this venture will be the use of farmland within the Stone Creek neighborhood: “The Homegrown Gardens”, which will provide fresh ingredients from just down the street.

Chef Rogiers has extensive experience delivering a premier product. He is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, California. He previously worked at Alinea, which is a top ranked restaurant in Chicago. His passion and expertise have even led him to the White House as he and his son won the National Healthy Recipe contest in 2013.

DISH

Roasted pork belly with pumpkin chutney and a herbed kefir sauce

Roasted radish with pumpkin chutney and a herbed kefir sauce (VEGETARIAN OPTION)

Produce: Cook Farm
Meat: Destiny Meats
Dairy: Little Brown Cow Dairy

Chef Team #3:

VFW Post 630

A strong duo (in and outside of the kitchen; we found each other working at the, now defunct, Radio Maria. Upon bonding over our love of cooking and great food, we moved forward and opened the kitchen at the VFW in Urbana. Being able to share our passion for food and help our community’s veteran population is very rewarding and we are grateful for the opportunities presented to us.

DISH

Pork Tenderloin Roulade with Crispy Vegetables and Creamy Polenta
Roulade of pork tenderloin with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and cave-aged heritage cheese. Served up on a bed of crispy roasted zucchini, with a creamy polenta between. Topped with a red raspberry gastrique and microgreens.

Mushroom Roulade with Crispy Summer Squash and Creamy Polenta (VEGETARIAN OPTION) Roulade of mushroom with caramelized onions, mushrooms, and cave-aged heritage cheese. Served up on a bed of crispy roasted zucchini, with a creamy polenta between. Topped with a red raspberry gastrique and microgreens.

Produce: Meyer Produce
Onions: Cook Farm
Mushrooms: Flyway Family Farm
Meat: Moore Family Farms
Grains: Janie’s Mill
Dairy: Marcoot Jersey Creamery

Chef Team #4:

Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage

A self-taught chef and entrepreneur, Mr. Jordan Baldarotta established Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage as the co-owner with his wife in 2019. Baldarotta’s is a local, award-winning Italian sandwich shop and gelateria based in Urbana. His sandwich shop is renowned for its Italian-American hot and cold sandwiches, which come in a variety of sizes and choices. Best known for his homemade Italian sausage or “porketta,” Mr. Baldarotta also features daily specials, a kid’s menu, fresh side dishes, gelato, fresh baked desserts, cannoli, and Italian sodas.

Mr. Baldarotta became involved in the food industry because of his passion for cooking and his love for food. Having long dreamed of owning his own restaurant, he initially began by working as a catering houseman, assistant catering operations manager, and catering operations manager for the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center. Mr. Baldarotta subsequently garnered recognition as a sous chef and kitchen manager for several other local eateries and, just prior to opening Baldarotta’s Porketta & Sicilian Sausage, spent two years managing a catering business that he co-founded with his wife between 2017 and 2019.

Civically engaged, Mr. Baldarotta frequently supports local schools by providing discounts on catering orders. He is also actively assisting the homeless population and the underserved community in Cunningham Township, Illinois.

DISH

Sparerib “Osso bucco”
Tomato & mushroom ragu, braised greens, butternut squash & Tomme polenta. Topped with rosemary olive oil and shaved aged alpine cheese.

Mushroom & Tomato Ragu Over Cheesy Polenta (VEGETARIAN OPTION)
Tomato & mushroom ragu, braised greens, butternut squash & Tomme polenta. Topped with rosemary olive oil and shaved aged alpine cheese

Meat: Kilgus Farmstead
Produce: Sola Gratia Farm
Mushrooms: Flyway Family Farm
Dairy: Marcoot Jersey Creamery
Grain: Funks Grove Heritage Fruits & Grains

Chef Team #5:

Harmony Korean BBQ

Blake Biggs is currently the Chef de Cuisine at Harmony Korean Bar-B-Que in Bloomington, part of Epiphany Farms Hospitality Group. Born and raised in central Illinois, Blake is passionate about using local ingredients to showcase the flavors of the area. After graduating from culinary school in Indianapolis in 2010, Blake returned to central Illinois and was previously the Sous Chef at Bacaro and Chef at Miga in Champaign before joining Epiphany Farms Hospitality Group in 2019.

DISH

Chicken and Black Garlic Dumplings
Poached Chicken, Black Garlic Dumplings, Tomato & Kimchi Broth, Estate Vegetables 

Confit Carrot and Black Garlic Dumplings (VEGETARIAN OPTION)
Confit Farm Carrots, Black Garlic Dumplings, Tomato & Kimchi Broth, Hardy Estate Greens

Produce: Epiphany Farms
Meat: Little Brown Cow Dairy
Grain: Funks Grove Heritage Fruits & Grains

BAKERY TEAMS

Bakery Team #1:

Compassionate Crumbs

Compassionate Crumbs was founded in 2019 on the pillar of sharing compassion through crumbs and customer service. Michelle Schneider, our owner and purple-haired patissiere, works with other small businesses in McLean County to provide quality and on-trend food products you can’t find at other licensed facilities in the area. Always unique, always great quality, always fun, and always filled with love!

Dish

Aronia Berry Gooey Crumb Bars

Flour – Janie’s Mill
Aronia – Fellowship Farms
Eggs – Joyful Wren Farm
Spice – Bloomington Spice Works

Bakery Team #2:

Heidi Leuszler

Heidi grew up the daughter of parents with wanderlust who believed that culinary experiences were among the best ways to know a place. Heidi and her husband purchased a home on seven acres of rich Illinois loam soil, and promptly planted native prairie and trees, wildflowers, a “Midwest Hedgerow”, an orchard, berries, and asparagus. The Midwest is a treasure trove of foodstuffs, both domesticated and wild, and Heidi believes we should celebrate this by exploring with our palates and growing and eating what we can find locally. Heidi prepares seasonal dishes based on what grows in the backyard and on local farms. As a professor of environmental science, ecology, and botany at Parkland College, Heidi continues to learn more about native plants, ethnobotany, and agriculture.

DISH

Pear Pockets

Sitting atop a local candied pear slice, phyllo pastry topped with a smidgen of local honeycomb surrounds a pocket of local cheese, herbs, and a handcrafted pear paste using local pears, apples, ginger, spicebush berries, and prickly ash follicles. 

Fruit: Red Crib Acres
Ginger: Fox Path Farm
Honey: Two Million Blooms
Dairy: Kilgus Farmstead

BEER VENDORS

Beer Vendor #1:

Artesia Brewing

Named for the Artesian Spring upon which we sit, Artesia Brewing is likewise a product of the earth. The driving force behind Artesia Brewing is love of the land and love of family. Five generations have grown up working together on this farm and each generation brings with it renewed levels of enthusiasm and their own unique set of priorities. We have chosen to honor the wisdom and foresight of the younger family members by shifting our focus to quality rather than quantity. Ingredients used in our brewery are produced using natural methods without the use of chemical sprays. Our farming practices are focused on maximizing soil health by restoring biodiversity and rebuilding levels of organic matter for our fruit trees, beehives, hops, and berries.

Beer Vendor #2:

Riggs Beer Company

Riggs Beer Company is a family-owned production brewery and tap room in Urbana, Illinois that features Lagers and other German and American beer styles. The brewery sits on 20 acres of land that includes a tap room, a huge beer garden, and several acres of wheat and clover fields. Riggs Beer Company leads the regional brewing industry in vertical integration of local grains and in environmentally sustainable brewing.

Bonus Brews:

Cloud Mountain Kombucha

Our team comes from varied backgrounds: Kyle (Brewing/Art/Horticulture), Aimee (Acting/Costume Design/Real Estate), and Andrew (Entertainment Industry/Fabrication/Business). But we as a group share a common passion for family, friends, nature, art, music, and — of course — kombucha! We all thrive on social interaction and the sense of community and togetherness that we feel while connecting with people around these common interests.

​Upon Kyle’s return home to the area after eight years out west spent as a professional beer brewer, our team started home-brewing beer and kombucha together. Now, almost five years later, a plan finally took root to open our own local craft kombucha brewery. The goal is to make a purposeful living doing something we are passionate about while providing high-quality, healthy, enjoyable, and meaningful products and experiences to consumers with a focus on keeping things local.

BAR SERVICE

Hendrick House &
Betsy’s Bistro

Behind the bar is Hendrick House and Betsy’s Bistro Catering.

Hendrick House Farm, part of Hendrick House, is dedicated to producing quality products for residents, the local community, and those eating at Betsy’s Bistro locations. Hendrick House Farm uses organic practices throughout their farming operations, which include a 10-acre farm and garden on the rooftop of Hendrick House Residence Hall in Urbana. Hendrick House Farm is dedicated to youth development and community awareness about healthy eating and sustainable agriculture.

PRODUCERS

• Bloomington Spice Works
• Cook Farm
• Delight Flower Farm
• Destiny Meats
• Epiphany Farms
• Fellowship Farms
• Flyway Family Farm
• Fox Path Farm
• Funks Grove Heritage Fruits & Grains
• Humbleweed Farm
• Janie’s Mill
• Joyful Wren
• Kilgus Farmstead
• Little Brown Cow Dairy
• Marcoot Jersey Creamery
• Meyer Produce
• Moore Family Farms
• Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery
• Red Crib Acres
• Sola Gratia Farm
• Sunset Acres
• Two Million Blooms