- Luke Zahm: This week on Wisconsin Foodie:

[upbeat music]

I haven't been to the State Fair since I was ten years old. And today is the day.

- French fries and some wine.

- Luke: Yeah! Adam Powlak, judge for the State Fair Sporkies.

- The craziest, most creative, most fun food that tastes really good too.

- So this is just straight hedonism. That's super good.

- Yeah.

- If you can eat it, it's here.

- Adam: Yeah. Or if it's here, you can eat it.

- You're handed food on a stick. You're just expected to try it.

- Nicole: It's so fun to show off all of the amazing cheeses that come from throughout the state of Wisconsin.

- Randy: 404 entries in 35 categories.

- We're at the Wisconsin Cheese Auction, the crème de la crème, literally.

- And we'll award a Grand Master Cheesemaker at the end of this contest.

- Announcer: Okay, the 2023 Wisconsin Grand Master Cheesemaker is. . . 

[upbeat music]

- Luke: Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters.

- 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. 

- Narrator: 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.

[meat 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.

[gentle atmospheric music]

- Presenter: Well, thanks again, everybody, for coming and helping at the contest, really appreciate it.

- My name is Nicole Barlass, and I am the president of the Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Promotion Board. So today, we are at the Wisconsin State Fair Dairy Products Contest, where basically, dairy products from around the state of Wisconsin come in to State Fair to get judged, and we will award a Grand Master Cheesemaker at the end of this contest. So when it comes to the state of Wisconsin, we still are America's dairyland. And when it comes to producing top-quality cheeses and dairy products, we are number one.

So it's so fun here at the Wisconsin State Fair to show off all of the amazing cheeses that come from throughout the state of Wisconsin. And it's really neat to see the number of different varieties, types, and styles that come here to the State Fair, and how amazing those cheeses taste. This is the behind-the-scenes moment for our dairy products contest. Basically, as you can see, there are a lot of boxes, a lot of cheese and dairy products coming in here. 

Our board members basically sort them into different classes. So the hard cheddars are in one class and flavored cheeses might be in a different class. Our curds are in another class. So we're taking those classes, we're opening the cheeses up, we're presenting them to the judges, and then bringing 'em back behind the curtains to repackage them up and put them away.

- Well, it's Randy Swensen, and I'm a cheese judge for the Wisconsin State Fair Cheese and Butter Contest. And I've been judging at the contest for nine years. Today, we have 404 entries in 35 categories today. When the judges are scoring, they're basically starting with a 100-point score system, and they're deducting points from there. First of all, they'll pull the plug out and they'll smell it, and that's your odors, where they're looking for off odors and everything like that. And then they're holding onto the cheese and actually feeling the textures and the bodies of it, which could be curdy, could be a little corky, could be either firm, soft, weepy, or pasty. And they'll take a certain amount off of that if it's very slight, slight, definite, or pronounced.

And then they'll put that cheese in their mouth and they'll actually taste it. And that's when you're gonna take points off for if it's acid, bitter, uncleans, anything like that, salty or too high of salt or too low of salt. And then after that, they're actually gonna look for the color defects also. So that's what they're looking for to actually come up with the score for the cheese in every class. There will not be a cheese that scores 100. There's gonna be something off on every piece of cheese. You're not gonna get 100. If you get 100, I wanna see it. Every time this time of year, I get all excited for the State Fair. I like to see the cheeses come in. I get to see all the stuff made in the state of Wisconsin. I think the quality of the cheeses through the years is getting better and better, and that's due to all of the Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker programs that they do at the Center for Dairy Research. Every year, it gets better and better.

- Judge: That's a good one, really nice. That's a really good one.

- Ashley Hagenow: That's my favorite one.

- That's a really good one.

- That and then the raspberry.

- Nicole: So after this dairy products contest today, we basically are able to identify our class winners and our first, second, and third place cheeses today. Those cheeses actually stay in coolers until August, when Fair comes. And they're actually put on display at the Wisconsin State Fair. All of the rest of the cheese that comes in is actually sold today. It leaves in a truck this afternoon. It goes to a local purchaser who is able to sell that cheese, which supports scholarships and our dairy promotion activities at the Wisconsin State Fair. And then what we do is we actually host a dairy products auction during the Wisconsin State Fair, where the first place cheeses are actually sold. And again, all of those funds come back to our board to benefit dairy promotion.

[gentle electronic music]

- Luke: I haven't been to the State Fair since I was ten years old, and today is the day. We're on the way. In order to establish a little bit of credibility, I have with me my son, Silas, and Arthur's son, Ilija, and we're on our way to Bay View to pick up owner and chef of Egg & Flour, Adam Pawlak, who actually serves as a judge for the State Fair Sporkies, a competition to basically discern the most interesting and unique foods at the State Fair. I'm super excited to walk through with all this additional perspective, and hopefully find some of the culinary treasures that lie in the State Fair.

What's up, brother?

- What's up, dude? How are you doing?

- I'm great; how are you, my man?

- The legendary truck.

- [laughing] Exactly; it's a van.

- A van, legendary van.

- Luke: Jerry Seinfeld's got comedians in cars getting coffee; we've got chefs in vans getting curds.

- Adam: Getting curds and everything else.

- Luke: Yeah, seriously.

[upbeat music]

I am hungry, and I gotta believe that as a judge of the Sporkies, you might have a little bit of a game plan for what we gotta do in here.

- I do; so we gotta take the big stuff down first.

- Okay. 

- Adam: Get that outta the way. We're gonna go to the, I think the top three Sporkie winners this year. And that's all about food that's created just for a competition of the craziest, most creative, most fun food that tastes really good too.

- Luke: Okay. Go easy on me, would you?

- That's not up to me, that's up to the fair.

[Luke laughing]

- The fair is now in control.

- In your destiny.

- Yeah, exactly. Well, should we go in?

- Let's do it.

- Let's do it. 

I gotta say, this is definitely a feast for the senses.

- Adam: It is. The first thing that you're gonna smell is either the animals or the cheese curds.

- Luke: Yeah, and it's kind of a beautiful hot mix of both.

- Yeah, it is; that's the whole point.

- There's something about being from the Midwest where you, like, kinda get into that half horse, half funnel cake, half cheese curd.

- And the best part about it is that you're okay with it.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Adam: And you don't even realize you're okay with it 'cause you're just walking around appreciating it.

- Luke: Exactly; it's just home. 

[upbeat electronic music]

- The Sporkies winner, the Wisconsin Beer Cheese Lava Cake.

- Employee: You got it.

- Luke: Yeah!

- Emily Ho-Abegglen: As you can see, we're back here where we're making all the lava cakes. We won the Sporkie this year. Yesterday was one of our slower days and we sold 1,800 orders. Our busiest days sell about 5,000.

[upbeat electronic music]

- All right, my man, so we're starting at the top.

- Adam: We're starting at the top. Number one this year, Sporkies winner. The bun from Milwaukee Pretzel Company. They fill it with beer cheese soup, and then there's hot honey and then your classic movie theater salt.

- Yeah.

- That you need.

- This is gonna be a good bite, isn't it?

- This is good. It should explode, it should be in there. This is one of my favorites when I was judging for sure, so.

- Okay, let's give it a shot.

- We'll do it right here.

- I gotta say, like, that hot honey. It's the perfect foil to, like, all that rich saltiness. But this is, like, I think all the things in, like, the Midwestern palate: salty, sweet, fat, and then you—

- Adam: Tons of fat.

- Luke: [laughing] Exactly! And it all kinda comes together in one super cheese-stuffed bite.

- And that little sweetness, like, that's what helps it. If anything, it's just gonna be a pretzel with cheese, you know? I think that's what takes it over. You don't have to eat it all.

- No, I'm not gonna.

- Promise.

- I'm not gonna eat it all. Well, maybe I'm gonna eat it all, I don't know. It's really good. 

- It is good.

- Luke: This was delicious.

- Adam: Yes.

- Luke: Where are we off to next, my man?

- Adam: We are going to Camp Bar.

- Luke: Okay.

- Adam: They have the second place Sporkies winner, and it's actually sweet. We're getting the Porkie Sundae.

- Luke: Okay.

- Adam: All right.

- Luke: Let's do it. 

- Adam: Let's go.

- Adriana Ramirez: We're here at Camp Bar. We are the second place winner of the Sporkie competition with our Porkie Sundae, which is a custard sundae loaded with a bunch of goodness that you would expect here at Wisconsin State Fair. Kind of played homage to our old owner of this facility, Rupena's. They partnered with us to create this sundae.

- Adam: Cheesecake bites, caramel, chocolate. They have a bacon strip that's covered in sprinkles, and then more bacon on top.

- Luke: So this is just straight hedonism.

- Adam: This is why we make it the second stop.

- Luke: [chuckles] Oh, my gosh. This could honestly be the first and only stop. This thing is massive.

- It is, and it's good for kids, family. They can all just sit down and get after and probably still not finish it.

- It's, like, raining bacon right now.

- Adam: It is. [Luke laughing]

- Luke: Oh, my gosh.

- You gotta get everything on there. All right, here we go.

- Here we go; cheers. The saltiness of the bacon, that subtle smoky. You've got the whipped cream, you've got the custard, you've got the cheesecake bite, you've got the sprinkles, the cherry, the graham crackers.

- Keep going, keep going, keep going.

- The caramel, the chocolate, like, all of it together.

- Yeah, I kind of feel like the bacon's like the nuts on a sundae, you know? Something sweet and savory is, like, their take on that.

- Well, you know, it's gonna be a tough act to follow, but—

- Adam: It will.

- Luke: That sounds like a legitimate endeavor into our culinary future.

- That's right, and we're heading over to Saz's.

- All right.

- Adam: All right, let's do it. 

- Luke: Let's go.

- What do we got on that map?

[gentle electronic music]

- Luke: We're here to try your Deep-Fried Apple Pie. I think.

- Adam: Just one.

- Luke: Yeah, just one please. [laughing] All right, number three, the Deep-Fried Apple Pie from the Saz, right?

- Yes, this one is actually super special 'cause it's not just the apple pie dropped in the fryer. It's actually wrapped in French toast batter with the filling on the inside. Then it's tossed with cinnamon and sugar, then caramel drizzle. Like, this one was really good, but that's why we only got one.

- Luke: Yeah. 

- Adam: I can't do a full one.

[Luke laughing]

- Luke: Oh, yeah. The moment of truth. Mmm. That's super good.

- Yeah, it is a winner.

- Rich custardy filling. You get the cinnamon and sugar nuance, obviously, the apple. Yeah, this is legit.

- Adam: I was talking about this at the Sporkie sales, like, not only is the creativity, but it's about the way that the food is cooked. The apples are cooked perfect. They're not under, they're not over, it's not mushy, you know where they are. It's kinda like a surprise in there.

- Yep, I love it, apple surprise.

- Very, very good one. We'll finish this one.

- Yep.

[upbeat electronic music]

- Adam: So I think the people that come to the State Fair that actually know as we call this, like the main drag, right? It's kinda like the middle of the big festivals. So main drag, this is gonna have the classic stuff, the chili cheese fries, the pizza, the funnel cake, deep-fried Oreos, all that kinda stuff. Fried pickles, pickle pizza, mozz sticks, all the crazy stuff. 

- Luke: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Adam: Alligator ribs they have here, so.

- Luke: I mean, why not?

- Adam: Why not?

- Luke: If you can eat it, it's here.

- Adam: Yeah. Yeah, or if it's here, you can eat it. It's kinda saying like, "Hey, we already got to this point, we're here, and enjoy it."

- All right, I'm in, I'm in.

[upbeat music]

Yeah.

- Thank you.

- Thank you. 

- Luke: Yeah!

[upbeat music]

All right, so Adam's got the footlong.

- That's right.

- I've got the dill dog. So without further ado. Just gotta unhinge my jaw for this thing.

- Adam: Hmm. Yes. Is there any hot dog in there or just. . . oh, there is. It is inside the pickle.

- It's like a hot dog surprise. The dill pickle in there is actually kind of a nice textural touch.

- It's for you?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Yeah, sure. I'll get down on a dill dog.

- Adam: The classic way for the footlong is just keep sliding her down for more bites. This is a classic, but still, it's literally perfect. 

- Yeah.

[gentle atmospheric music]

All right, so now, we are in the wine pavilion, correct?

- Correct.

- And we are here with our good friend, Jessica Bell. Jessica, you're no stranger to Wisconsin Foodie productions.

- No; good to be back.

- Luke: And since I don't drink, I just get to facilitate this wonderful conversation.

- Jessica: I love it.

- About the Wisconsin wine flight, correct?

- Correct, so we have four flights.

- Okay.

- And I have chosen the Taste of Wisconsin. So the Taste of Wisconsin are based on all grapes that are grown in Wisconsin.

- Luke: So what's the first on the wine flight?

- So we've got a sparkling from the Blind Horse Winery, which is in Kohler, Wisconsin. And this one is made from La Crosse grapes. So that's a hybrid, but it is made in the champagne method. So it's taking Wisconsin influence and adding on French technique. So what's great about these wines is that they're gonna be really high in acid. So Wisconsin's cold and so you're gonna get high acid grapes, and so sparkling wine tastes awesome when you have some acid on it.

- Yeah.

- Definitely.

- And it goes great with, like, corn dogs or fried foods. So this is great to—

- French fries and some wine.

- Jessica: Yes, absolutely; so this is perfect fair. . . I approve of fair wine.

- Fairgoer, Fair-going wine.

- I like that.

- Jessica: Exactly. All right, number two. So we've got Cold Country Itasca. So this is a new grape that's hit Wisconsin, and it's got a lot of promise.

- This is the wine that I would drink. So if we can get a case of this.

- All right, this is on camera. He wants a case.

- There's no burn. There is no burn to this. I could drink a lot of this.

- Isn't this a clean wine? Okay, number three, we've got Elmaro, so you guys are familiar with Elmaro.

- Luke: Oh, yeah, Trempealeau!

- Jessica: Yes. So this is a Marquette grape. Marquette is doing really well in Wisconsin.

- Luke: How would it go with the dill dog?

- The dill dog. Well, with the dill dog, if you wanna know the pairing I would do, I would probably do the Itasca.

- Okay, okay, sure.

- Sweet, salty, acid.

- There's a wine pairing for even the fair food.

- Yeah.

- I could pair every food in this place.

- Yeah!

- With this. 

- Adam: All right, four.

- Jessica: Number four, this is, the grape is Petite Pearl, and that means they're small grapes when they're called petite, like Petite Sirah, those are small grapes. And so you're gonna get this really dark color on it, and it's from Vines and Rushes. So this is just outside of Ripon, Wisconsin.

- Luke: All right.

- Number five. Now, this one is Chateau St. Croix, which is north. The way Irv, the owner, likes to describe it, it's the booger of the nose on the west side of Wisconsin. Do you know what I'm talking about?

- Luke: Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

- Okay. So they're in the booger. So Chateau St. Croix.

- So it's gonna taste the best.

- Yes, these are straight from the boogers.

- Luke: I can't say enough how excited I am to see this market emerge.

- Absolutely.

- Right, for years, it was just super sweet Wisconsin wines to combat all that acidity in those grapes.

- Right, we got the local food and we do have the local wine. We have a number of producers who are really rising to the occasion and producing world-class dry and sweet wines.

[gentle atmospheric music]

- We're about to check out the Wisconsin Products Pavilion, which for me is the most exciting part of the fair. Getting to see, like, the innovation and the love and the care and the craftsmanship that goes into all this, I'm so excited.

- A lot of options, and this is something that you have to come to. A lot of people bypass and think it's just about the food. It's really about these products as well.

[upbeat electronic music]

One of my favorite stands that they have is the grilled cheese. Literally just sitting there all day ripping grilled cheese for people, you know? One of the good stands for sure.

- Luke: In a really Midwestern way, this whole pavilion is dripping with swagger, right?

- Adam: Oh, yes.

- Luke: It's people who do, like, a very specialized thing. 

- Adam: Very specific.

- Luke: And I think the opposite end of the spectrum to the fact that, like, people may consider us culinary flyover.

- Adam: Yeah.

- Luke: Is the fact that we are anchored right here in the Midwest, where we've got the good soil, the good water, the good air.

- The good animals.

- Yeah.

- You know, like, everything that's here is here for a reason, and that's why we get all these great products. It doesn't just show up outta nothing.

- Exactly. So the reason that I'm here today is to check out the Wisconsin Cheese Auction this afternoon. 

- Yes, which there's no shortage of great Wisconsin cheese. Everything here has a place. And you were telling me about some of these that I haven't seen before, but they're actually very, like, prominent, and what they're doing is super special to them. You know, you see smoky pepper all the way to the Sartori that we love and the Roth. I could go buy this case and have 20 or 30 new recipes using this cheese and not using the basic stuff that everyone's used to.

[upbeat music]

You just made it.

- Yeah, what I'm talking about, yee-haw!

- Adam: So what do you think? What was the best bite today, honestly?

- You know, the one that's sticking to me right now, kinda the dill pickle pizza; I really like that. You know, it's pretty balanced; it was a good bite.

- Adam: It was, I liked that one. I liked the apple pie. 

- Luke: Yep.

- I feel like they should have an option for, like, a scoop of ice cream on there if you want.

- Right. - Charge another $11 for it.

- Luke: [laughing] You know, I don't think that there's really probably a bad bite out here.

- Adam: No, of course not.

- My man, is this where we part ways?

- This is where we part ways. I gotta get back to the restaurant. You have to go to the cheese auction.

- Yeah. 

- I appreciate you having me. I hope you enjoyed your first-ever Wisconsin State Fair.

- Dude, this was a riot. To be able to walk around here with you, this has been a dream. I'm a huge fan of you and everything that you're doing in Milwaukee. And my brother, any time I can return the favor.

- I appreciate you coming down to Egg & Flour, and we'll eat as much pasta as we ate here.

- All right, that sounds great, man.

- Adam: Thanks.

- Luke: Have a good day. 

- Adam: Excellent, appreciate you.

[gentle electronic music]

- Luke: The créme de la créme, literally. We're at the Wisconsin Cheese Auction. All the first place winners get auctioned off. And I am so excited to see what's on this spread. All right, Nicole, can you set us up? Where are we at right now?

- So all of our award-winning cheeses, they were judged back in June here at the State Fair. And then they even select a winner, a Grand Master Cheesemaker that gets announced here tonight. But basically, those cheeses are judged then and then they come here tonight. The first-place cheeses get to get auctioned off here.

- That's amazing. It's gotta be a thrill for the cheesemakers and for the people bidding on the auction.

- Nicole: Yeah, it's very exciting for the cheesemakers. It really shows that they're the best of the best here in the state of Wisconsin.

- Luke: So what happens to the money that's being raised through the auction?

- Yeah, so all the money that's earned tonight from this auction gets reinvested in dairy promotion here at the Wisconsin State Fair. So all of the fairgoers that come here to the Wisconsin State Fair get to learn how milk is turned into cheese and other dairy products, and how they get to enjoy those high-quality products.

- Luke: That's amazing. And the reason that I think it's so amazing is, like, the Wisconsin farmers, the milk, the cheesemakers, the butter, all that is so deep in our identity and DNA.

- It is.

- Do you feel like, being from Sheboygan, you have a special angle on that?

- Absolutely; I'm a dairy farmer, and so, I mean, we always have to celebrate America's dairyland, and we are so proud of the high-quality products that are here in our state and all the people that put the time, effort, and labor into making those products, from the milk and the farmers milking those cows to the people making those products.

- Luke: Well, thank you so much for your work and your endeavors to really raise the bar of consciousness on the Wisconsin dairy industry because as a chef, I can say, we play with the finest palette of ingredients anywhere in the world. And that's all thanks to you, the farmers, so, much love.

- Well, thanks for being here, and we hope you enjoy some cheese here tonight.

- Oh, I certainly will. Thank you so much.

- Nicole: Thank you.

- Announcer: Okay, the 2023 Wisconsin Grand Master Cheesemaker is. . . Brian Crave of Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, Waterloo, for their Chocolate Mascarpone.

[attendees applauding and cheering]

[upbeat music]

- Arthur: Now, roll the cheese like a Frisbee. Just kidding.

[chuckling]

[Ashley laughing]

- Hopefully, with all this perspective, we'll be able to piece together some amazing culinary experiences. Additionally, I just missed my right turn. So we're gonna double back and grab Adam, but this afternoon, we also get to attend the cheese auction.

[quirky music]

Get in the van!

- What are we even doing back here? Why are we in the shot? I don't even get it.

[Luke laughing]

- Man, this is gonna be some good people watching today.

- That's the whole reason I come here.

[Luke laughing]

- $8 a ticket to watch people all day. I'm putting it with my collection.

- Luke: Yeah, do it. You got an inflatable monkey collection?

Wisconsin Foodie would like to thank the following underwriters.

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

- 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.

Are you hungry for more? Then go to our YouTube channel and subscribe and be in the loop every time we release new content, behind-the-scenes footage, and new episodes that you can preview before anyone else. Check us out.

[gentle music]