2WIF1401HD_REV20240104 Wisconsin Foodie 1401 Bootleggers Lodge- Chef Håkan Thörnström Transcript

- Luke Zahm: This week on Wisconsin Foodie: Bootleggers has this crazy history.

­ Brian Hollnagl: This was a place where the gangsters would come and they would attempt to relax.

­ We're on our way to meet Chef Maja Holcomb and Michelin Star Chef from Sweden, Håkan Thörnström.

­ Bootleggers has historically been a supper club. Now we're trying to push for a more creative style of cooking paired with really, really high-quality ingredients.

­ This looks fantastic. What do you have here?

­ Maja: Meat cooked to perfection.

­ Luke: There's something absolutely special happening here tonight.

­ The menu is Wisconsin ingredients cooked in the Nordic style.

­ Luke: This is maybe one of the most technical dishes I've ever had. That's awesome. Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters.
[gentle guitar music]

­ The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to underwrite Wisconsin Foodie, and remind you that in Wisconsin, we dream in cheese.
[people cheering]

Just look for our badge. It's on everything we make.

­ Did you know Organic Valley protects over 400,000 acres of organic farmland? So are we an organic food cooperative that protects land? Or land conservationists who make delicious food? Yes. Yes, we are. Organic Valley.
[lively banjo music]

­ Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends, only in Wisconsin, since 1993. Just a short drive from Madison, come visit "Swissconsin" and see where your beer's made.

­ Wisconsin's great outdoors has something for everyone. Come for the adventure, stay for the memories. Go wild in Wisconsin. To build your adventure, visit dnr.wi.gov.

­ Twenty-minute commutes. Weekends on the lake. Warm welcomes and exciting career opportunities. Not to mention all the great food! There's a lot to look forward to in Wisconsin. Learn more at InWisconsin.com.

­ With additional support coming from The Conscious Carnivore. From local animal sourcing to on-site, high-quality butchering and packaging, The Conscious Carnivore can ensure organically-raised, grass-fed, and healthy meats through its small group of local farmers. The Conscious Carnivore: Know your farmer, love your butcher.

­ Luke: Additional support from the following underwriters. Also with the support of Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
[upbeat music]

We are a collection of the finest farmers, food producers, and chefs on the planet. We are a merging of cultures and ideas, shaped by this land.
[sizzling]

We are a gathering of the waters, and together, we shape a new identity to carry us into the future.
[glasses clinking]

We are storytellers. We are Wisconsin Foodie.
[serene music]

Today, we're in the Northwoods, specifically Tomahawk, on our way to the historic Bootleggers Lodge. Bootleggers has this crazy history. It started as a Prohibition-era speakeasy that was frequented by some of Chicago's most infamous gangsters, and naturally evolved into a supper club. We're on our way to meet Chef Maja Holcomb, and then tonight, to take part in an innovative collaboration between Chef Maja and Michelin Star Chef from Sweden, Håkan Thörnström, that infuses Scandinavian cuisine with Wisconsin cuisine to mark a new chapter in Wisconsin's supper club evolution.
[upbeat music]

­ Brian Hollnagl: This place, in particular, has quite a history about bootlegging, and about John Dillinger, and various people that were in this establishment. This was a getaway in Northern Wisconsin, so like so many other places, this was a place where the gangsters would come and they would attempt to relax. What I wanted to do with Bootleggers was, number one, recognize the fact that food brings people together. And in bringing people together, you want to have something that's worthy of your time. This restaurant, to start out with, has been inspired by all sorts of travel, but the photos on the walls are oftentimes photos of either actors or sports figures, but people at their best. You know, there's just positive energy that exudes from these people at that time. I mean, there's Willie Nelson. There's all sorts of different people that when they're at their peak, they're so happy. And I always think to surround yourself with that energy is just a wonderful thing. The idea of food bringing people together, this is kind of the central core of, you know, providing people something that's worthy of their time to share this time with their friends and their guests. But Maja is just the person that puts the center core on that table.

­ Bootleggers has historically been a typical supper club in Wisconsin. Now we're trying to push for a more creative style of cooking paired with really, really high-quality ingredients, and also working to source local ingredients as well. Just as high-quality as some of the international ingredients we source too.
[gentle music]

Running a restaurant like this in the Northwoods of Wisconsin is challenging. Our goal now is to gain the trust of our customers and show them that the products that we serve are higher quality, and then we can dive even deeper into what we bring in to serve here to our guests. I do try to source as much locally as possible, and one of our first local purveyors that we were able to establish a partnership with was Ted Medows at Medow Farms Organic out of Wabeno, Wisconsin. He raises all of his herd on his great-grandparents' land, using the handwritten feed recipe that his great-grandfather wrote. From Wabeno, the meat travels to a local processor in Merrill, where it's aged and processed right there.
[gentle music]

Now we're headed down to Geiss Meats in Merrill. We're gonna check out some meat, check out the dry-aging chamber, and pick up some beef.

­ My name is Ted Medow of Medow Farms Organic. We are right now in Merrill, Wisconsin at Geiss Meats Incorporated. So we take the beef, they're graded at prime or upper choice. They hang on the half for 30 days. After that, the primals are cut out whole, bone in, and they're placed into the dry-aging chamber, where we incorporate technology with the artisanal beef. This is where science meets old world meat. And so after the process is done, it ends up being the most refined, delicious product that we can find.

- Maja Holcomb: Working with Ted as a purveyor is much different than working with a lot of the large food purveyors, as it's more of a personal connection and a personal relationship. You know, even Ted has given us connections with other local purveyors too. So it all just kind of creates this beautiful network of great food in Wisconsin.

­ So really, it took about 30 months. I raised the animal 30 months, plus another month hanging on the half, another 35 days. So it's just about a three-year process to get that steak to the plate. Brings a smile on my face to be able to do it for you guys.

­ Working with meat from purveyors like Ted at Medow Farms Organic is truly a gift. And it's not only a gift to me to be able to cook and receive these products, but it's a gift to our guests as well. Typically, when somebody orders a tomahawk, especially Ted's, I kind of like to present the meat to them and tell them a little bit about the story behind it, and that just adds to their dining experience.
[relaxing music]

Growing up in Sheboygan County, we're surrounded by dairy farms and cattle farms as well. So just milk, dairy, cheese, beef, all of that is really ingrained in me, and I feel like it's represented in every dish that I put out.
[relaxing music continues]

­ Chef Maja, this looks fantastic. What do you have here?

­ This is our lovely three-pound Tomahawk Experience with sauces, sides, and meat cooked to perfection.

­ We have the Brussels sprouts here. It looks like there's a cheese on that.

­ Yeah, we got just cotija cheese, a local maple syrup, and ancho sauce tossed with the Brussels. And right here we have our truffle frites with Sartori Parmesan and malt vinegar aioli. Dig in.

­ Do you want me to, like, use the fork and utensil or can I just...

­ Go for it.

­ Cool, awesome. Yeah, I think, you know, dining should be kind of a visceral, tactile experience. The sauce. Wow, that's really good. So sometimes with ribeyes, when they're this large, they can tend to be like, it's a pretty worked muscle, so they can tend to be tough, but this is almost like butter.

­ Maja: Good.

­ I mean, it's delicious and I love the char on the outside. It kind of gets all those bitter receptors going, and opens it all up for, like, the warm richness and saltiness. Like, this is really, really well-seasoned. You know, when you see this come to the table, this is part of the Tomahawk Experience.

­ Right.

­ The tomahawk in Tomahawk.

­ Exactly.

­ I can't imagine that these aren't flying off the shelves. And this is, like, representative of what Bootleggers has to offer on a really, really frequent basis, if not daily. But there's something absolutely special happening here tonight. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

­ Well, we're doing a wine pairing dinner with a special guest, Chef Håkan Thörnström from Sweden. He's visiting and we are going to do a Wisconsin Nordic cuisine menu.

­ Well, don't let me get in your way. I really appreciate this. I'm gonna take this out to the dining room and work on it for a little bit so you can get back to prep.

­ Sounds good.

­ 'Cause I'm sure you're super busy.

­ Thank you.

­ Thank you so much for your time.

­ My name is Håkan Thörnström. I'm a chef and I am from Gothenburg, Sweden, and now I am invited here to Wisconsin at Tomahawk at Bootleggers Lodge to do two evenings of cooking with my Nordic menu with Wisconsin ingredients. We are doing a small tour to Bootleggers suppliers, and it's really nice to see it on site and get to understand how the product is produced. When you get to know the product, it's more understanding and respect to the ingredients. For me, as a chef, it's a small amount of storytelling as well. It's much more fun to present ingredients that you know much more about and have actually seen on site than just ordering from a big, huge company. Will be more personal and more interesting to talk about and to cook. This is my first time here in Wisconsin. For me, getting here and to cook with new colleagues, it's a great pleasure. The idea is to cook with a, like an accent of Nordic traditions and styles in the menu combined with the locally sourced ingredients from here. We have smelt, we have a trout from Wisconsin, venison for main course. We have rhubarbs. All the herbs are from here, and every course is included with one or more items or ingredients from Wisconsin.

- Brian Hollnagl: This is semblant of what we really wanna offer here in the Northwoods, which is kind of a portal to a global experience. And by Håkan coming in and offering this cuisine that's so international, we hope that Håkan will come back. Aside from that, we think that there are other people that we can bring in, and we can invite the community and people from the Midwest to come and experience some of the things that we've found in the world that we think are really great and worthy of sharing. So that's the spirit of this place.
[people chatting]

­ Diner: This flower is edible.

­ It's a great honor to be here with you guys here in Wisconsin, in Tomahawk, at Bootleggers Lodge. The menu is mainly with Wisconsin ingredients cooked in a Nordic style. Maja, do you want to say a few words before I sing to you?
[people laughing]

­ Of course, 'cause I won't be able to top his song. So thank you so much for coming to these new events that we're hosting here at Bootleggers Lodge. We're so excited to offer a new worldly style of entertainment here. It was a wonderful opportunity to source everything from local areas, farmers, producers; enjoy.

­ Håkan: Thank you.
[people clapping]

So we start always in Sweden, Gothenburg, where I come from, with a small song.
[Håkan singing in Swedish]

[people cheering and clapping]

[Håkan singing in Swedish]

[people cheering and clapping]

[gentle music]

The first course is with Wisconsin trout marinated Swedish style. You marinate it with salt and sugar actually. We'll add on some smelt. It's a super small fish, and we will deep fry it in a nice batter so it will be crispy and add a texture as well as the fish flavor.

­ Hi, Chef.

­ Hi.

­ How are you?

­ I'm fine, thank you. There you go.

­ Oh, this is beautiful.

­ This is the first course of the menu. In Sweden, we call it gravlax, but it's no salmon, it's trout, and it's marinated with salt and sugar.

­ Sure.

­ Over the night. And we have a special sauce, very typical Swedish. It's called gravlax sauce.
[Luke laughs]

But in the menu it says, "Metro," the hotel, sauce.

­ Okay.

­ Then it's some infused cucumber, potato chips, and locally deep-fried smelt.

­ Yeah.

­ From, on the top.

­ Oh, that's gorgeous; thank you so much.

­ So, enjoy.

­ Oh, I will.

­ Enjoy the first course.

­ I will. Thank you so much, Chef.

­ Thank you.

­ This is so fun. There's an amalgamation of culture happening here that is so unique and so rare. Gravlax, that ability to cure fish with salt and sugar, and it happens in a relatively short period of time. Now it's a culinary pinnacle, but for years, it was a means of preservation. And that's what I love about Scandinavian cuisine. While sometimes it seems so far out, it's really rooted in the science of keeping the food as fresh as possible for as long as possible. Because let's face it, chefs in Scandinavia know that winter is long, just like us in Wisconsin. I love though, in this dish, it's a combination between your grandmother's garden when the dill is in bloom, and that really, really comfortable smell of a Friday night fish fry. I can't wait to dive in. This whole thing is so wonderfully light and somehow rich and wholesome at the same time. The trout has a really, really amazing, almost floral quality to it. The process of curing it in salt and sugar gives it tremendous depth and body, and you really taste the freshness. And the compressed cucumbers give it an element of levity. But I think quietly, the real star of the show is this cracker. I know. It sounds like the last thing on the plate that one would consider, but it's so earthy and so rich that it carries the entire lightness of the dish all the way through my palate. It's wonderful.
[people chatting]

[gentle music]

­ The next course is the walleye. We have made a combination of a tartare of the walleye and also a mousseline. It's a fluffy farce from the walleye meat and some cream actually, with some asparagus and a ramson emulsion, ramson mayonnaise. The next course up for you is locally fished walleye. We have made mousseline in the bottom and then a layer of tartare of walleye. Slightly smoked flavor on the tartare and mousseline.

­ Sure.

­ We have made tomato water. Some semi-dried tomatoes and asparagus.

­ Okay.

­ Yeah. All local.

­ Of course.

­ Yeah.

­ Why not?

­ Yeah.

­ I think it's great. Thank you so much.

­ Enjoy, enjoy.

­ I will; thank you, Chef. This is maybe one of the most technical dishes I've ever had, right here. This dish is a shining example of how molecular gastronomy can actually come in and fortify very, very simple preparations and ingredients into these luxurious textures that really change the way that we taste and approach food. All these ingredients and flavors are so fresh, but for me, it's the contrast that strikes me and the way that they're executed perfectly that really, really catches my eye.
[people chatting]

[groovy music]

­ So here is a tray of ballotine of pheasant, and, of course, the pheasant is from Wisconsin. We have a filling of farce from the inner fillet of the pheasant, wrapped around the breast. And we will add some brown corn puree. On top of that, mixed popcorn. It makes a nice crust and extra flavor.

­ Here we have a Wisconsin pheasant ballotine with a brown butter corn puree, foraged morel mushrooms, parsley oil, and a little dot of popcorn on top.
[Luke laughs]

So something a little fun, and yeah.

­ This is super playful. I gotta say, like, everything that I've had thus far has been so well-executed.

­ Wonderful.

­ I mean, you could just taste it, but, like, the attention to detail has been spectacular. It's been delicious. You guys are killing it.

­ Thank you.

­ Thank you.

­ Enjoy.

­ I can't wait. This dish is a total homage to springtime in Wisconsin. You have this braised ballotine of pheasant, a pheasant consommé. We have a little bit of parsley oils, and then, the star of the show, the morel mushroom. The elusive, often-sought-after, and absolutely delicious morel mushroom. That's awesome. The pheasant, one of my favorite birds, is usually rich and dark and luscious. It doesn't get much better than this.
[people chatting]

­ Speaker: And a lot of people...

­ Diner: I know.

­ When do you want to do it?
[people chatting]

[groovy music continues]

­ Håkan: This is potato cake with Wisconsin cheese into it. And then we have the venison in two versions, where the...

­ Maja: The ragù?

­ Håkan: The ragù.

­ Maja: Grilled loin.

­ Håkan: And the grilled loin of the venison. The only ingredients that we actually imported now is black truffles from Italy.

­ Staff Member: This too bright?

­ Okay, sir. So here we have the main course. The venison from Wisconsin with a potato cake with cheese and some truffle into it. A salad with pickled red onion and the ragù of tri-tip from the venison and a full-bodied sauce.

­ How has it been, like, coming to Wisconsin, Northern Wisconsin specifically, and cooking with the, you know, like, the potatoes with the cheese and the venison? These are, like, traditional, iconic ingredients.

­ Yeah, yeah. I heard about it.
[Luke laughs]

But so without knowing it, I nailed it.

­ Yeah, you sure did.
[laughs]

­ No, but this kind of potato cake, I often use, you could go for, like, Gruyère, some matured hard cheese into it. So I make it with cooked potatoes, grinded or crushed, then combine it with some eggs, some cream, and a lot of cheese.

­ Wow.

­ Håkan: Just bake it in the oven.

­ That long braise on that tri-tip really brings out a tremendous amount of flavor. To sear the venison on the outside and get a really, really nice crust, but leave that interior nice and cool, is my favorite way to appreciate the animal. And this is a home run.
[relaxing music]

[people chatting]

­ Good, y'all.
[hands clap]

­ Yeah, high five, right?

­ Five.

­ Was good.

­ Well, friends, it was amazing. It was amazing to be out here. All the food was executed perfectly. I mean it. But what I really loved about tonight is you wrote a new chapter in the story of Bootleggers. A place that's long been known as perhaps a speakeasy, or it went through many iterations in its lifetime 'cause this place is almost 100 years old. And tonight, you started a chapter that is off the chart. So on behalf of us, thank you so much. This was truly, truly delicious and fun to be a part of.

­ Nice having you here.

­ Hey, thanks, thanks! It's been fun for me too. I got to break out this shirt.

­ Yeah, it's cool.
[laughs]

It's very cool.

­ Luke: Thanks.
[people chatting]

[relaxing music continues]

[singsong voice]

Consommé, consommé, everybody likes a consommé. Nikki, if I code out, will you come over here and stomp on my chest a couple times?
[Nikki Flohr laughs]

[Luke laughing]

­ It's like I dribbled on my shirt. That's what happens when you wander through a greenhouse that dribbles on you.
[upbeat music]

­ You wanna clap it?

­ Sure.

­ Producer: High five it?

­ Yeah, high five. Ready? Line up the elbow.
[hands clap]

Oh.

­ God.

­ Friend, let's try that one more time. Come forward.

­ Okay, wait, wait, wait. Wait, really?

­ Yeah.

­ Okay, okay.
[hands clap]

­ One more time.
[hands clap]

There it is; I like it.
[Maja chuckles]

Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters.
[gentle guitar music]

­ The dairy farmers of Wisconsin are proud to underwrite Wisconsin Foodie and remind you that in Wisconsin, we dream in cheese.
[people cheering]

Just look for our badge. It's on everything we make.

­ Did you know Organic Valley protects over 400,000 acres of organic farmland? So are we an organic food cooperative that protects land? Or land conservationists who make delicious food? Yes. Yes, we are. Organic Valley.
[lively banjo music]

­ Employee-owned New Glarus Brewing Company has been brewing and bottling beer for their friends, only in Wisconsin, since 1993. Just a short drive from Madison, come visit "Swissconsin" and see where your beer's made.

­ Wisconsin's great outdoors has something for everyone. Come for the adventure, stay for the memories. Go wild in Wisconsin. To build your adventure, visit dnr.wi.gov.

­ Twenty-minute commutes. Weekends on the lake. Warm welcomes and exciting career opportunities. Not to mention all the great food! There's a lot to look forward to in Wisconsin. Learn more at InWisconsin.com.

­ With additional support coming from The Conscious Carnivore. From local animal sourcing to on-site, high-quality butchering and packaging, The Conscious Carnivore can ensure organically raised, grass-fed, and healthy meats through its small group of local farmers. The Conscious Carnivore: Know your farmer, love your butcher.

­ Luke: Additional support from the following underwriters. Also with the support of Friends of PBS Wisconsin.
[upbeat music]