Mozzarella Roulade with Smoked Salmon
Fresh Mozzarella Cheese rolled with Smoked Salmon, Fresh Dill, and Sun Dried Tomato Aioli.

“Sunnie” Cakes
Midwest Farm Raised Sunfish blended with Green Onion, Wild Rice, Wisconsin Cheddar, and Finished with Cranberry Chutney.

BLT Cheesecake
Savory Cheesecake with Hardwood Smoked Bacon, Herbs and Oven-Dried Tomatoes Lemon Aïoli on a Bed of Romaine and Arugula with Sourdough Baguette

Oven Roasted Potato Salad
A combination of Roasted Red Potatoes and Yukon Potatoes, marinated and Roasted Golden Brown, and tossed with Fresh Herbs, Feta Cheese, Roasted Red Peppers, in a Dijon Vinegrette.

Local Artisan Cheese Selection
Displayed on Marble Slabs with Fresh Herb Arrangements and Edible Florals Featuring Wedges of Hand Wrapped Brie, Natural Pesto Jack Two Year Old Wisconsin Cheddar, Amish Blue, Smoked Provolone and Chipotle Gouda Served with Franklin Street Bakery Breads, Dried Fruit and Sliced Local Apples
Caprese Pearl Salad
Bocconcini Mozzarella, Grape Tomatoes, Fresh Basil and Cracked Black Pepper
Tossed in Virgin Olive Oil with Baskets of Breadsticks and Garlic Toast Rounds
Gourmet Coffee & Dessert Station
Freshly Brewed Caribou Coffee with Shaved Chocolate, Whipped Cream, Cinnamon Sticks
and Assorted Flavored Syrups

Petite Dessert Array

Sue shares her knowledge and passion for the food world every Wednesday on "Food For Thought" in the eleven o'clock hour on the Mondale Jones Show, plus on her podcasts and her seasonal weekend specials.

You will also find her culinary insights in her "Sue Z Says" column in Minnesota Monthly Magazine. Sue is a James Beard Broadcast Media Award Winner and judge's local and national chef and cooking contests. She has edited nine fundraising cookbooks and is the founder of the local Kids Cafes, an after school cooking and dining program, and the Women Who Really Cook networking organization.

Sue is active in numerous community organizations, is an honorary member of the American Chefs Federation and serves on several boards including Perspectives Family Center, The Metropolitan Airport Foundation, The Cookie Cart and more.

Sue is married to Dr. Al Zelickson and has two sons, two daughters-in-law and four delicious grandchildren.

Brian McCorkell has been with Lancer Catering and Call of the Wild restaurant at Minnesota Zoo since 2005. He has been in the culinary profession for more than 20 years, including executive chef positions with Sodexho, Grand Grill Americana, Portofino and Gibraltar Café & Catering, and sous chef with Bacio & Zelo. He is a graduate of St. Paul Technical College Hotel & Restaurant Cookery program.

Brian introduced a new Asian food concept and Sabino’s subs and salads to the Minnesota Zoo this past summer. While in Thailand, Brian learned about Asian food techniques and the flavors and spices that reflect the best of the Asian culture.

He is known for testing new ingredients and recipes, and experimenting with spices that enhance the entrée’s overall taste. His mastery of flavor and attention to detail when it comes to food is a passion, not a job for Brian.

E-mail Brian at bmccorkell@lancercatering.com

Born in Chicago, Executive Chef George P. Snyder, III, moved to Rosemount, Minn., at the age of three. He began his culinary career in the 1980s working with Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans. He returned to Minnesota and worked as the night Sous Chef at the Fort Snelling Officer’s Club for five years. From there, he joined the Palomino/Kincaid chain for eight years, performing a vast array of duties. He also worked as Sous Chef for Table of Contents, where he was promoted to Executive Chef over his seven-year tenure. He later went on to represent the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Plymouth, Minn. As their Executive Chef, he proudly exhibited award-winning food and donated his time and talents at charitable events. George has been Executive Chef at McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant for more than three years.

Jorge Guzman brings a 10-year breadth of culinary experience to his new position as Executive Chef of Tejas Restaurant.

Born in Mexico City and raised in St. Louis, Guzman found his true calling working various restaurant jobs while he attended Drake University in Iowa. Upon graduation from Drake with a degree in advertising, Jorge was set on a course to pursue his passion for cooking and he decided to matriculate at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

After graduating in the top 5% of his class at the CIA, Guzman chose to settle in Minneapolis and took a job as a Sous Chef at Redstone American Grill in Eden Prairie.

Guzman was later appointed the Executive Chef position in Chicago at Dunlays on Clark a popular American eatery, and D.O.C. Wine Bar in Lincoln Park, an establishment featuring wines from around the world and dishes to complement those wines.

Eager to establish his credentials, Guzman is excited about the opportunity to make his mark as Executive Chef of Tejas. He is energized to stamp the Tejas menu with his own unique creations while maintaining the style and quality that Tejas has been known for over the past two decades.

Guzman resides with his girlfriend in Golden Valley.

Mark Awada has over 25 years experience in the restaurant industry. 15 years corporate and 10 years independent. His passion for food began at a young age in the kitchen of his Lebanese/American home. He developed a palate for exotic ingredients at the same time gained the appreciation that great tasting food came from simple, fresh ingredients. Mark was exposed to all aspects of the business in his grandfathers restaurant Awada‘s on Plato. He worked his way through college by working in numerous popular kitchens in Minneapolis. His passion for great food took him to new heights with Palomino Euro Bistro and Restaurants Unlimited with whom he assisted in opening several restaurants. Starting as a Line cook in Minneapolis, he was promoted to Sous Chef of Palomino in Indianapolis, IN, then to Executive Chef for Palomino in downtown San Francisco, CA, and Training Chef in Restaurants Unlimited for the San Francisco bay area region. His strong family base and the need to eventually open his own restaurant brought him back to Minneapolis/St. Paul, where he took on the role of Executive Chef for Kincaid’s in St. Paul. Throughout his restaurant years, he has developed compelling menus, trained multiple staffs, and controlled costs in a highly structured environment. His experiences have lead him to one conclusion: great product makes great business.

The son of restaurateurs, Rick Kimmes was born and raised in Red Wing, Minnesota. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Stout and earned a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. During a college internship, Rick spent a summer working at Walt Disney World’s Town Square Café. After graduation, he attended the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. His CIA internship was completed at the Greenwich Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Rick’s professional career launched in New York City at Morton’s of Chicago and was followed by a one-year stint as Sous Chef working under Chef Bruce Egdahl at the celebrated Round Hill Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. Upon returning to Minnesota, Rick worked at Sherlock’s Home in Minnetonka and at the Minnekhada Country Club in Minneapolis with Executive Chef Ferris Shiffer. In 1996 he joined Parasole Restaurant Holdings, Inc. at Pronto Ristorante as Sous Chef working with Executive Chef Michael Larson and Executive Sous Chef Wade Wiestling. Leaving Parasole in 1997, Rick joined Wendell Pittenger Golf Operations as Chef and Food and Beverage Manager at Oak Marsh Golf Course in Oakdale, Minnesota. He reunited with Parasole in the role of Executive Sous Chef for its new venture, The Oceanaire Seafood Room. Rick assumed the role of Executive Chef in February, 2000.

The Oceanaire is a charter member of the Heartland Food Network, where Rick takes an active role in the promotion of locally grown, organic food. He is committed to preparing fresh, seasonally prepared and regionally-inspired dishes. He is also a participant in Chefs for Change, a program of the Twin Cities’ non-profit agency, People Serving People.

Rick is a celebrated and frequent cooking instructor at Ludlow's Resort on Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota. He also teaches at Cooks of Crocus Hill in St. Paul, Minnesota and at Kitchen Window in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His culinary expertise is shared while educating seafood lovers tableside at the Oceanaire and also in cooking classrooms.

A native Texan, Lynch has drawn upon basic cooking principles, childhood influences, cultural techniques and career travels to shape his acclaimed, innovative creations of today. His degree in culinary arts from New England Culinary Institute was a strategic stepping stone to an around-the-world career with Four Seasons Hotels in Dallas, Houston, Austin, London, Nevis and Maui. Lynch’s next stop was as Executive Chef at the Westin Hotel in Oklahoma City, where he quickly established a reputation for presenting cutting-edge creations, as reflected in Jay Porter’s Oklahoma Gazette quote, “Hats off to Paul Lynch — his Aria Grill has instantly vaulted to the top of my list of incredible places to eat.” His transition to Radisson Plaza Hotel’s Festival Restaurant (Editors Choice – Mpls. St. Paul Magazine) in the Minneapolis market positioned Lynch to draw upon all five senses to create an exciting, memorable dining experience.

Encouraging his creativity and Heartland-inspired menus, Lynch today serves as Executive Chef of FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar. “Food you know and love better than you thought it could be” best captures the food at FireLake. Lynch has captured the true flavors of the Midwest with a touch of the Mediterranean and continues to raise the bar on classic Midwest offerings with foods provided by the heartland. Carefully selected regional products, artisan producers of cheeses and fresh greens, freshwater seafood and small farms have been scoured to be the source of ingredients that gives the food its indigenous flavor. A restaurant based on the unique flavors of real burning hard woods (hickory, alder, mesquite, pecan, apple, cherry and more) FIRE - from the land of 10,000 lakes - LAKE.

Currently, Lynch is a founding member of Minnesota’s Heartland Food Network, a collaborative effort to create a unique and authentic “taste of place” in Minnesota that highlights the wealth of fresh meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, wines, and wild foods available in the region. By uniting the region’s key promoters of local foods, chefs, farmers, distributors, the University of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the initiative has created a framework within which these foods will be readily available to homes, restaurants and institutions throughout the state.

This February, Chef Lynch received the prestigious Carlson Fellows Lifetime Achievement Award in the creativity and innovation category for his tireless work in developing FireLake’s business, for his collaboration with other divisions within the Carlson organization, his cultural impact in adding a new twist on traditional Midwest cuisine, and the creativity and innovation in his recipes. Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine also named Lynch as 1 of the 12 chefs who are making a difference in the community and honored FireLake and Chef Lynch as “Restaurant Tour of the Year.”

FireLake Grill House & Cocktail Bar was voted Best Newcomer by WHERE Magazine (2004), Best Restaurants of 2003 by the Star Tribune and Hot Spots (2003) by Pioneer Press. FireLake has also been featured in Chocolatier and Bon Appetit’s restaurant issue. FireLake annually participates in Dining Out for Life, donating 50 percent of all breakfast sales on that day to the Aliveness Project. Since 2005, Lynch has been the featured host chef for the Flavors of Minnesota American Liver Foundation fundraiser and honorary chef for the March of Dimes Signature Chefs dinner and fundraiser.

Chef Lynch took top honors at the Minnesota Pork Board Taste of Elegance competition and represented Minnesota in April of 2005 at the National Taste of Elegance. In 2006, Lynch was presented with the 2006 Minnesota Beef Backer Award by the Minnesota Beef Council for exhibiting leadership and innovation in beef menuing and promotion. This year, Midwest Living, Minnesota Monthly, Foodservice News, AAA Magazine, and Lavender Magazine have all spotlighted FireLake and Lynch. He is also an active participant in Minnesota Cooks at the Minnesota State Fair, highlighting his continuous support of regional, sustainable and organic products.

As proprietor and sommelier for The Wine Markets with locations in Mendota Heights and Woodbury, Kristen Kowalski is able to utilize all of her skills as a business woman as well as share her love of wine and food with customers at The Wine Market. After more than 15 years in the food and beverage industry at companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods, and General Mills, Kristen felt it was time to incorporate her passion for wine, culture and history into a new business. Kristen received her sommelier certification from the International Sommelier Guild in 2006 and is one of only six women in the state to hold that title. Kristen graduated from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management with a Bachelor’s and Master Degree in Marketing. She was recently named one of the 2008 “25 Women To Watch” by The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. E-mail Kristen at Kristen@thewinemarket.us or visit The Wine Market’s website at www.thewinemarket.us