By Renee Larr
Conner Prairie, in conjunction with Ivy Tech, will be hosting a 100-mile brunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 5. The concept is simple – to showcase local foods that can be found within 100 miles.
“We’re really excited to be working with Ivy Tech Culinary School. This idea actually derived from a professor at Ivy Tech named Tom England,” CP Director of Programs Chris Petrelli said. “He came out here last year and did a symposium talking about local foods and his 100-mile diet approach. It’s really about just trying to eat foods raised within a 100-mile radius of where you live. We got this idea that it would be cool to try and do this as a brunch and challenge a chef to create a 100-mile brunch. Last year, it was such a great success we thought we’d try it again.”
The culinary students handle all aspects of the brunch from food preparation to event planning.
“We started talking with Chef Jeffrey Allen Bricker at Ivy Tech. He thought it would be a great opportunity for his students to get involved and give them some real-world experience,” Petrelli said. “We devised this idea to make this a challenge to his students. They’ve really taken it on. We’re really excited about it. I hope it’s something we can continue in the future. We can really showcase what is going on in local food production market here in Indiana.”
The casual event will also showcase animals raised at CP and will offer three different courses.
“One of the things that I think is pretty is cool is that we’re going to be featuring one of Conner Prairie’s own animals,” Petrelli said. “We raise Ossabaw Island hogs. It’s a very rare and unique species of hog that is prized among chefs. We’ll be showcasing them at this event. In terms of staying within 100 miles we’re not even going 50 feet.”
The cost to attend is $60 for a CP member and $65 for a non-member All the proceeds will go back to benefitting the various programs and to support CP’s vision. For more, visit connerprairie.org.
