This story is sponsored by Chef Camp.

Join some of Minnesota’s most talented chefs in the woods to learn about primal cooking methods and share the best local flavors. This immersive retreat for chefs and food lovers in the North Woods runs from Sept. 1-3, 2017.

The chefs who will be cooking over the fire this year include:

Noted French chef VINCENT FRANCOUAL, former proprietor of Vincent, A Restaurant and the current culinary director of Cara Irish Pubs. Vincent cooked with famed chef Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin, a 3-star Michelin-rated restaurant. He’ll teach a class on cooking Provençal fare over an open fire.

ERIK SATHER, owner of Lowry Hill Meats, a butcher shop in Minneapolis. Through years of cooking in some of Minneapolis’ best restaurants, Sather has demonstrated a passion for connecting to the source of his ingredients. At Camp he’ll teach our campers how to make tortillas from scratch and fill them with heritage pork and fixin’s foraged from the wild.

JASON ENGELHART, executive chef at Meritage. Jason creates high-end French-influenced cuisine at one of the state’s top restaurants and is an enthusiastic backyard griller / smoker of meats. His class, The Art of the Char, will explore the unique flavors that can be produced over an open flame.

YIA VANG, Union Kitchen pop-up founder. While working in some of the foremost kitchens of Minneapolis (including Nighthawks, Borough, and Spoon and Stable) he began to find his own voice in showcasing Hmong food. Vang will draw on cooking traditions from his Hmong heritage to teach a campfire pork char siu class.

Forager KATHY YERICH, forager and co-author of Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest. Yerich is the vice president of the North American Mycological Association, and will lead a hike through the camp’s extensive network of backwoods trails called “What is this, and can I eat it?”

Chef Camp is a wilderness culinary retreat at YMCA Camp Miller, 90 minutes north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Campers stay in cozy cabins, take chef-led campfire cooking classes, forage, sip artisanal coffee and cocktails, participate in classic camp activities (think archery, canoeing, and crafts!), and feast under the stars in an open-air mess hall.

A ticket to Chef Camp starts at $650 and includes all food, beverages, lodging, activities, and chef instruction.

Get a taste of Chef Camp in the city!

Join us for a Fulton Gran Fondo pre-ride feast on Friday night featuring Chef Camp chefs Erik Sather of Lowry Hill Meats and Yia Vang of Union Kitchen. Sather will be cooking up a whole hog (from Tangletown Gardens) porchetta-style, and Vang will be slow-roasting veggies over the fire. Join us for an epic meal, fun camp activities, and the launch of Fulton’s newest “HOPSTAR” Session IPA.

Learn more and get tickets >

The post Chef Camp Announces 2017 Chef Lineup appeared first on The Heavy Table - Minneapolis-St. Paul and Upper Midwest Food Magazine.