Tag Archive | LINC UP Soul Food Cafe

Greens Cook-off a winning time for everyone

first-placeDespite the threat of rainy weather, the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market Greens Cook-off and Green Tomato Festival brought out some great cooks and delicious tastes. Chef Lewis Williams and , manager of the Linc Up Soul Food Cafe, brought two, huge pots of cooked collards — his Mama’s secret recipe — for market patrons to sample.

The event’s judges awarded prizes to the three greens dishes gathering the most tallied points. Points were given for taste, nutritional value, presentation and wow factor.

  • First Prize: Andy Geelhoed, greens made in ham-bone broth. Andy won a $75 gift certificate to our market cake vendor. He plans on using it for his mother’s upcoming birthday.
  • Second Prize: Alita Kelly, spicy vegan greens. Alita won a $50 gist certificate for Country Life Natural Foods. Alita was thrilled as she already had a Country Life Order in mind.
  • Third Prize: Darlene Gibbons, kale and collards. Darlene received a gift certificate to LINC UP Soul Food Cafe. Darlene can’t wait to go enjoy delicious soul food without having to cook it herself.

Thank you judges, Anthony King and Anja Mast, who also brought some amazing green tomato chow chow for all to enjoy. And, a very  BIG THANK YOU to LINC UP Soul Food Cafe for co-sponsoring the event!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Three chefs! Free eats! Great prizes! Greens Cook-off & Green Tomato Festival is Saturday

greens-cook-off-2016-1-4LINC UP Soul Food Café partnering in Greens Cook-off at Southeast Area Farmers’ Market!

The Southeast Area Farmers’ Market hosts its annual “Greens Cook-off & Green Tomato Festival” during market hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 1 at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 900 Fuller Ave. SE 49506.  This year, LINC UP Soul Food Café is joining the fun! Chef Lewis Williams, LINC UP Café Manager, will preside and cook up his mama’s secret lincstaff-lr-8717greens recipe for sampling and sharing—that’s right, he is going to share copies of his mama’s recipe!

“It’s all about Mind Body and GREENS,” Williams says.

Community members can enter the cook-off by simply bringing their prepared greens or green tomato dish to the market between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m., when judging will commence. Prizes will include gift certificates to LINC UP Soul Food Café, a $50 Country Life Natural Foods gift certificate and a gift baskets full of products and produce provided by market vendors.

chef-o-oliver-haleGrand Rapids celebrity chef, Chef O (Chef Oliver Hale) will judge the competition. An award-winning chef, tennis champion, transplant survivor, TV host and community volunteer, Chef O received a kidney transplant on January 29, 1985 as the result of kidney failure and a massive heart attack. He credits healthy cooking and eating for his longevity and success as a chef and an athlete.

In addition, Grand Rapids cooking coach, Anja Mast, will demonstrate and share samples of green tomato recipes. All market patrons will enjoy taste-testing fried green tomatoes and Green Tomato Recipe Bookgo home with a free, 30-page Green Tomato Cookbook developed by the Southeast Area Farmers’ Market, Kent County Health Department and Grand Rapids Food Systems Council. The cook book features, by permission, celebrity chef Bryant Terry’s recipe for Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes as well as everything from appetizers to desserts.