SHAWNEE – Whether grilled, smoked, poached, canned or dehydrated – wild foods procured from the Kansas outdoors will be on showcase at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ (KDWP) bi-annual cooking competition in Lawrence on Saturday, June 8. The event will be hosted by KDWP and Baker University Wetlands Discovery Center.
The competition will be held at Baker University Wetlands Discovery Center, 1365 N 1250 Rd, in Lawrence from 2-5 p.m. Competitors will submit entries in any of the following categories: Wild game, wild fish, wild plants, wild mushrooms, wild sweets (fruit, berries, dessert, etc.) and wild invasive/ nuisance species. Entries will be judged by a panel of local expert foragers, with prizes awarded to the top entrant in each category, as well as a special prize for the “Community Favorite” entry.
Registration for the event ended on Friday, May 24.
Entries will be judged by a panel of expert foragers, with prizes awarded to the top entrant in each category, as well as a special prize for the “Community Favorite” entry.
Dishes must be large enough for taste-testing by judges and community attendees. Presentation counts!
Participants may preserve (via methods of freezing, canning, dehydrating, etc.) wild ingredients to extend the season of their dish for this event.
In addition to the wild foods cook-off, the day’s activities will also include mini workshops on native lands habitat restoration, foraging, and plant and insect identification. A formal land acknowledgement, and presentation on Baker Wetlands history, will also be provided before cook-off winners are formally announced. The day’s events, including the cooking competition, are offered at no cost to the public; and, attendees do not need to register a dish in order to taste entries and/or participate in the day’s workshops.
For questions, contact event organizer and KDWP Education specialist Amy Bousman at amy. [email protected].
