A Small Town Reborn Through Food, Thanks to Local Produce and French Cooking Techniques

Never thought a restaurant like this would be in Neenah. Quality and craftsmanship are reinventing this small town through food, with local produce and French cooking techniques. In this episode of Wisconsin Foodie, host Luke Zahm travels to Neenah, Wisconsin to meet with Jon Horan, chef and owner of Town Council Kitchen & Bar. Horan is a Neenah native who trained abroad and worked at high-profile kitchens around the United States, ultimately bringing his knowledge and expertise back to his hometown to support the thriving local food movement. With putting a little bit of Wisconsin twang onto classic French cooking techniques while relying on his community connections, Chef Jon is able to provide a rotation of unique and fresh dishes each week. “An imperfect carrot from the farmer’s market, peeled and cooked well that tastes great, at the end of the day it always feels worth it to me.” Along with food integrity and prioritizing support for local producers, Chef Jon values family as integral for remaining grounded. The effort behind Town Council’s storyline cooking reflects the intention and dedication to community. Chef Jon travels to Kaukauna to pick up a box of produce from Rick Slater at Produce with Purpose, Fox Valley’s first food hub aimed at increasing access to fresh products right from farms and artisans at a reasonable price. He then heads to meet Liz Redman and Trent Wester of Thunderbird Bakery in Oshkosh for high quality sourdough bread and pastries, also made with Wisconsin ingredients. Luke joins for the next leg of the journey: the local farmers market downtown at Shattuck Park. If chefs wonder, how do I develop my own storyline with food? Well, these markets are the perfect way to meet the growers, producers, artisans, and give reference points for how to pull all these ingredients in. This is the ultimate cross section of flavors and farmers and all sorts of community connection. Back at Town Council, Chef Jon even gets a special delivery of fresh produce from his mother’s garden. Time to cook it all up and encapsulate the heartbeat of the community through cuisine. Luke enjoys four exquisitely perfected dishes: a beautiful charcuterie board featuring chicken liver mousse, pork rillettes, and country pate; an off-the-hook potato and lovage vichyssoise soup (thank you mom); a roasted corn panzanella that tastes like all the love from the people they met at the market; and lastly a lovely seared duck confit leg with Louisiana lady cream peas. According to Luke, this wintertime classic paired with summer vegetables is a dish that’s quackin’. From farmers market and locally-sourced products to expert preparation of dishes, Town Council is a fantastic example of the trending food movement for young entrepreneurs’ desire to give back and make a difference in their communities while honoring and elevating a sustainable ecosystem. Town Council takes a snapshot of the moment in the season, and translates it into delicious bites - definitely worth the trip. 0:00 This week on WI Foodie 1:24 Putting Wisconsin twang onto French techniques 4:06 How a chef stays grounded with family and omelettes 5:36 Accessible food: local produce to your door overnight 7:53 Artisan bakers energizing local food scene 9:30 Cross section of flavors, farmers and community connection at the farmers market 12:37 Special delivery from family garden 13:21 A charcuterie board to die for 15:47 Thank your mom for this love of lovage, it’s celery on steroids in this soup 17:05 Roasted corn with storyline cooking 18:32 This wintertime classic paired with summer vegetables is a dish that’s quackin’ 20:42 A small town reinventing itself through food 21:54 Say what? (Outtakes) Make these stops a MUST on your next weekend getaway… Town Council Kitchen & Bar: https://www.facebook.com/towncouncilneenah?locale=nb_NO Produce with Purpose Farm: https://www.producewithpurpose.com/ Thunderbird Bakery: https://thunderbirdbakery.com/ Neenah Farmers Market: https://www.neenah.org/farmers-market/