New winner emerges in cook-off
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FAIRMONT-- The 25th annual Martin County Blue Ribbon Pork Cook-Off saw several new entries and one new winner Wednesday night at the Martin County Fair in Fairmont. The Hi-Lo Supper Club out of Lakefield received first place in both the People's Choice and Connoisseur divisions.
This year's participants included Green Mill, Martin County Pork Producers, Dudley's Garage and Hi-Lo Supper Club.. The last two are new entries this year and both are located in Lakefield. Interlaken Golf Club had planned to participate as well but had to pull out due to staff illness.
Green Mill offered a visually pleasing and unique dish of Pork Wellington. The dish featured a strawberry and rhubarb tart which had a center filling of shredded pork, corn and onion. It was served with a side of quinoa mixed with pork belly and bacon. The dish earned third place in the Connoisseur division and second place in People's Choice.
Martin County Pork Producers served its famous pork chop on a stick, sprinkled with its arguably more popular Martin County Magic seasoning.
Dudley's Garage offered a slow smoked pork slider with a chipotle peach coleslaw and honey bourbon barbecue sauce. The concoction received second place in the Connoisseur division and third in People's Choice.
Hi-Lo Supper Club won over the crowd and the judges with a bourbon glazed pork belly bite, which was slow roasted and fried. It was accompanied with a mixture of sour cream, green onion and sesame seeds.
Taylor Chase, event catering coordinator of Hi-Lo Supper Club, said that they were asked to participate in this year's pork cook-off and jumped at the opportunity. She shared that Hi-Lo and Dudley's Garage are actually sister restaurants.
"Dudley's Garage opened in the summer of 2020 and Hi-Lo Club has been around for years and years but the owners of Dudley's Garage purchased it from the previous owners," Chase said.
While catering for Hi-Lo has been going on for years, the restaurant was just reopened this past New Year's Eve.
Jagar Hobmeier, head chef at Hi-Lo Supper Club, said that the pork belly bite that they served is actually an appetizer on their menu.
"People love it. We thought, cooking with pork, it would be a great thing to bring to the table," Hobmeier said.
The pair said that it felt nice to receive top honors at the event and that they would definitely be back to participate in next year's pork cook-off.
"Now that we know about this competition, we would love to be included in the future," Chase said.
The Connoisseur's division was made up of a trio of judges: Tim Bierman, owner and operator of Bierman Farm, Inc; Tim McCarty, executive chef at Rochester Golf and County Club; Pam Voelke, director of events and promotions for the Minnesota Pork Board.
The People's Choice votes were provided by the hundreds of taste-testers who were
able to rank each dish based off a range of criteria.
All of the proceeds from the ever-popular cook-off fund two $2,400 scholarships which go to local students planning to study an ag-related field. This year's recipients were Lincoln Becker and Carson Pomerenke.
The Martin County Blue Ribbon Pork Cook-Off is sponsored by the Agri-Business Committee of the Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce, Martin County Pork Producers and Martin County Corn and Soybean Growers.