St. Paul's Handsome Hog chef to compete Sunday on Food Network's 'Iron Chef America'
Justin Sutherland is bringing his contemporary Southern cooking to Kitchen Stadium.
July 5, 2018 at 6:14PM
On Sunday, tune in to "Iron Chef America" to watch chef Justin Sutherland of Handsome Hog in St. Paul and the new Pearl and the Thief in Stillwater as he brings his contemporary Southern cooking to the Kitchen Stadium for a battle with Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli.
Who will claim the title? Chefs Susan Feniger and Jonathan Waxman will decide. The competition takes place at 9 p.m. on the Food Network.
A Minnesota native, Sutherland graduated from Apple Valley High School and went to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. He's been Handsome Hog's executive chef since it opened in 2016.
Sutherland is only the second Minnesota-based chef to ever appear on "Iron Chef America." (World Street Kitchen's Sameh Wadi battled Morimoto in 2010.)
Handsome Hog will have a viewing party at the restaurant on Sunday.
And just for fun, here's a Visit Saint Paul video featuring Sutherland's favorite local shopping and eating destinations:
More TV time
Sutherland isn't the only Minnesota-connected food star on TV this summer.
Marcus Samuelsson, the New York City chef who for five years led Aquavit in Minneapolis, will host a new six-part documentary-style series as he travels the U.S. to look at the diversity of immigrant traditions and cuisines in a program called "No Passport Required" on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on TPT2 (and at other times). For the first episode, Samuelsson begins in Detroit as he meets with Middle Eastern immigrants. Later weekly episodes connect him with the Vietnamese community in New Orleans, Mexicans in Chicago, the Indo-Guyanese immigrants of Queens in New York, the Haitian people of Miami and Ethiopian families in Washington, D.C.
"I absolutely believe in the American dream," he said in a press release. "It's inspired people from all over the world to come here. And what would America be without all the immigrants? Not as delicious! Not as tasty!" Samuelsson himself is an immigrant, born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and now a U.S. citizen. The program will feature musicians, poets, chefs, business owners, artists, community leaders and home cooks in a look at culture and cuisine.
And there's still more. Daniel Klein and Mirra Fine, the Perennial Plate filmmakers from Minneapolis, turned their attention to immigrants awhile back and have released a film about a Somali refugee family in Minnesota, part of a series they call "The Immigrant Family Dinner project."
The film premiered at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival and can be viewed on Vimeo at vimeo.com/277116873 or on Facebook at tinyurl.com/y9ytrx5c or at their website theperennialplate.com.
The Somali story, which ends with a meal, tells of the family's 20 years in refugee camps, the separation of family members for five years and their reunion in the U.S.
Staff writer Tom Horgen contributed to this report.
Lefse-wrapped Swedish wontons, a soothing bowl of rice porridge and a gravy-laden commercial filled our week with comfort and warmth.
