Agriculture at a software company? Must be Epic.
Epic, a health care software company, pays homage to Wisconsin agriculture in a number of ways — it’s state-of-the-art buildings that resemble a barn and farmhouse, 550 acres of operating farmland, 42 sheep, 14 cows, and one donkey. If you decide to get something to eat, you’ll find your mouth watering over a cuisine that emphasizes local food.
Andy Patterson leads the culinary team at Epic. The team of roughly 250 serves about 9,000 lunches per day. He says the chefs have an abundance of creative liberty, and recent inflationary pressure and supply chain challenges have required creativity.
Epic’s culinary talent and creativity was front and center earlier this month as chefs competed in the first-ever Epic cook-off featuring Niman Ranch beef and lamb. Our own Stephanie Hoff got to partake in the judging.
“We have many talented chefs on our Culinary team,” said Christina Zentmyer, culinary director at Epic. “They use their extraordinary talents every day to feed thousands of Epic employees and guests. We thought it would be fun to let them put their recipes to the test in a friendly competition. We were thrilled when our friends at Niman Ranch wanted to help us make it happen.”
Niman Ranch and its network of farmers and ranchers raise livestock humanely and sustainably to support family farms and their local communities across the U.S.
“We work with a community of hundreds of independent family farmers and ranchers who put in a lot of time and care raising their livestock,” says Kerri McClimen, vice president of communication for Niman Ranch. “We love to see all the creative ways Epic chefs are using our products and are thrilled to have a few of our Niman Ranch ranchers with us today to help judge this competition.”
Contestants were judged on taste, creativity, and presentation. When the competition was over, chef Jeff Paulin’s braised short rib won the beef category and chef Kevin Rikli’s grilled lamb loin was selected as the top lamb dish.
“The competition was a great opportunity to showcase the talents of the Epic Culinary department by highlighting the products of farmers and ranchers that act as stewards of both their animals and their environment,” said chef Jeff Paulin. “It was a fun event for competitors and guests alike.”
“Cooking food like this is a great reminder of the incredible set of skills that chefs at Epic bring to the table and everyone had some amazing flavors at the end of the day,” said chef Kevin Rikli. “I’ll certainly be expanding my list of lamb recipes so our colleagues can continue to enjoy these products.”
The judging panel included: Andrea Behling, Madison Magazine; Stephanie Hoff, Mid-West Farm Report; Kerri McClimen, Niman Ranch; Jake & Natasha Beeler, Niman Ranch cattle ranchers from Prescott, WI; and Cody Hiemke, lamb farmer and program manager for Niman Ranch, Stoughton, WI.
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