Choose Iowa will present free cooking demonstrations and food presentations daily at 1 p.m. in The Kitchen inside the Maytag Family Theatre Building throughout the 2025 Iowa State Fair. The Kitchen is located on the Grand Concourse between the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) building and the Barksdale’s State Fair Cookies building.
Over the 11 days, the line-up will feature nearly 30 Choose Iowa members as well as award-winning chefs and culinary professionals from across Iowa.
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025, at 1:00 p.m
Featured Presenters: Executive Chef Ian Robertson of Oak Park Restaurant (Des Moines); Mike Sexton of Sexton Sheep (Rockwell City), a Choose Iowa member; Wendy Johnson of Joia Food & Fiber Farm (Charles City), a Choose Iowa member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Sexton Sheep (Rockwell City); Joia Food & Fiber Farm (Charles City)
Event Details: Chef Ian Robertson will demonstrate how to prepare lamb using ingredients sourced right from your own backyard. He'll share tips on pairing cuts with homegrown herbs and vegetables as well as highlight what to grow (and when) for the most flavorful results. Iowa sheep producers Wendy Johnson with Joia Food & Fiber Farm and Mike Sexton with Sexton Sheep will share about their sheep production.
Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenters: MasterChef Grant Gillon (Altoona); Calvin Schnucker of The Good Butcher (Des Moines); Steve Kerns of Mangalitsa Estates (Clearfield), a Choose Iowa member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Mangalitsa Estates (Clearfield)
Event Details: Join Calvin Schnucker of The Good Butcher as he fabricates a hog raised by Mangalitsa Estates near Clearfield. MasterChef Grant Gillon will then demonstrate the ideal temperature for the perfect bite of delicious Iowa pork. Steve Kerns will describe how his pigs are raised on his farm in southwest Iowa. Presented with support from the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenter: Kristen Daily of Pie Bird Pies (Des Moines), a Choose Iowa member; Chef Jacob Schroeder of Crafted Food Services (Urbandale), a Choose Iowa member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Blue Gate Farm (Chariton); Simple Life Farm (Winterset); Sonshine Farms (Hubbard)
Details: Join Choose Iowa for a dill-lightful demonstration and learn how to make dill pickle lemonade! The salty-sweet drink is the perfect summer refreshment, and it has a bit of a cult following among Pie Bird Pie fans. The real secret to this lemonade is how you make it though. Zero juicing, a miracle! Our favorite way to make it is in a stand mixer, and in this demonstration, you’ll learn how, step by step. This recipe features lots of great summer produce like cucumbers and dill…and a jar of pickles, of course! Chef Jacob will also walk through ways to use the leftover cucumbers and pickles at the end of the lemonade making.
Beef, Through the Eyes and Taste of the Caribbean
Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenters: Chef Karim Suriel (Ames); Ty Gustafson of Story City Locker (Story City), a Choose Iowa member; Mike Holden of Moo Meat (Scranton), a Choose Iowa member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Moo Meat (Scranton)
Details: Come see and taste the delicious beef creation of two friends: Dominican Chef Karim Suriel and Iowa beef producer Mike Holden of Moo Meats. It will be a “tasty carnivorous treat” you won’t soon forget! Presented with support from the Iowa Beef Industry Council.
Edible Flowers and Creative Ways to Use Them
Monday, Aug. 11, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenter: Chef Aaron Holt of Doolittle Family Farm (Altoona), a Choose Iowa Member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: WesleyLife / Prairie Meadows Hydroponic Farm (Des Moines)
Details: Come learn all you've ever wanted to know about edible flowers. The presentation will include information about their benefits, do's and don'ts, key varieties and plant parts, how they're grown, and all the key factors for knowing they're indeed edible.
Bread, and Cheese, and Wine, Oh My!
Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenter: Cassie Bott with Fireside Winery and Ackerman Winery and FireCiders (Marengo), a Choose Iowa member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Fireside Winery and Ackerman Winery (Marengo); Six Clems Micro Bakery (Maysville); WW Homestead (Waukon)
Details: Aged to perfection! Join Choose Iowa to sample some of Iowa’s finest wines, cheeses and bread. The presentation will feature breads from Six Clems Micro Bakery, cheeses from WW Homestead and wine from Fireside and Ackerman Wineries.
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenter: Nicole Jonas with Red Granite Farm (Boone), a Choose Iowa Member
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Red Granite Farm (Boone)
Details: Love Iowa sweet corn but not sure what to do with it all? This hands-on cooking demonstration will show you just how easy it is to make the most of this seasonal favorite. From fresh recipes to simple freezing techniques that take the intimidation out of preserving, learn how to prepare, store, and enjoy sweet corn well beyond summer. Whether you're cooking for a crowd or stocking your freezer, you'll leave with tips, tricks, and inspiration for using sweet corn all year long.
Perfect Pairings with Artisanal Honey and Specialty Cheeses
Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenter: Honey Sommelier Katie Flinn with Milk & Honey Orchard & Apiary (Indianola), a Choose Iowa Member
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Hinterland Dairy Inc. (Donnellson); Beyer’s Bees (Boone); Milk & Honey Orchard & Apiary (Indianola)
Details: Katie Flinn of Milk & Honey Orchard and Apiary, Iowa's first and only honey sommelier, will showcase the perfect pairings of local artisanal honeys and specialty cheeses all hand selected from Iowa.
Bringing Bison to the Table: Everyday Ways to Enjoy an American Icon
Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenter: Bethany Kriegel of Sunset Hills Bison Ranch (Malcom), a Choose Iowa Member
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Sunset Hills Bison Ranch (Malcom)
Details: Discover a modern twist on a classic comfort food with bison meatloaf and mashed potatoes. This hearty dish brings the rich, lean flavor of American bison to the table, offering a nutritious and delicious way to enjoy a true icon of the American plains in everyday meals.
Meal Prepping with Chicken: Making the Most of the Whole Bird
Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenters: Chef Andrea Love of Dinner Delights (Des Moines), a Choose Iowa Member; Ashley Wenke of Pleasant Grove Homestead (Montezuma), a Choose Iowa Member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: Pleasant Grove Homestead (Montezuma), Cinnamon Ridge Dairy (Donahue)
Details: Learn how to cook a whole chicken plus tasty, simple recipes for leftovers.
Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
Featured Presenters: Landon Loftsgard with Golden Outdoors; Teresa Davis with West Forty Market (Ankeny), a Choose Iowa Member; Meagan Mittman with Forage Farm (Cambridge), a Choose Iowa member.
Choose Iowa Members Sourcing Ingredients: West Forty Market (Ankeny); Forage Farm (Cambridge); Fort Dodge Farmers Market (Fort Dodge)
Details: Learn how to make this one-pot Low Country Southern dish featuring everything from Iowa…including the shrimp!
Choose Iowa, a marketing initiative of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, is the state’s signature brand for Iowa grown, made, and raised food, beverages, and ag products. Additional details about each daily free event are available on the Choose Iowa Facebook page. Learn more about Choose Iowa by visiting ChooseIowa.com.