Wild Game Cooking Stage Connects Prairie to Plate at 2017 National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have revealed the 2017 headlining presenters for the Wild Game Cooking Stage at National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic. Minnesota natives Amy Thielen, Jack Hennessey, and Jamie Carlson will be joined by returning chef, Hank Shaw, to provide flavorful wild game demonstrations at the Minneapolis Convention Center on February 17, 18 & 19. Gander Mountain is the presenting sponsor of the Wild Game Cooking Stage.

“For me, a wild harvested meal following a successful hunt is just as important as the point, flush and shot,” explained Bob St. Pierre, Pheasants Forever’s vice president of marketing. “Those special meals connect a hunter to the land and to habitat critical for wildlife to thrive.  Wild meals truly are part of our conservation recipe.”

National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic presented by Federal Premium Ammunition will be the nation’s largest trade show and convention for upland hunters, producers, sport dog owners, and wildlife habitat conservationists. The event will also highlight Pheasants Forever's accomplishments in the state of Minnesota, home to 72 Pheasants Forever chapters and two Quail Forever chapters. Local chapters account for more than 24,000 members who have contributed over $72 million to complete 28,020 wildlife habitat projects impacting 257,466 acres for wildlife habitat conservation efforts.

Wild Game Cooking Stage Presenters

Hank Shaw – A former restaurant cook who spent 19 years as a political reporter, Shaw can now be found on his James Beard award-winning blog, Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook. Shaw has also authored multiple books on the topic of wild game cooking; “Hunt, Gather, Cook: Finding the Forgotten Feast" and "Duck, Duck, Goose." His latest book, “Buck, Buck, Moose,” was released in 2016. He has also been published in Food & Wine, Petersen’s Hunting, Organic Gardening, The Art of Eating, Outside Magazine, Field and Stream, Sactown, Pheasants Forever’s Journal of Upland Conservation, and Delta Waterfowl Magazine. Shaw has been featured on “Bizarre Foods America” with Andrew Zimmern, “Meateater” with Steve Rinella, “The Sporting Chef” with Scott Leysath, and "Somebody's Gotta Do It" with Mike Rowe.

Wild Game Cooking Stage Seminars: Getting the Most out of your Game Birds / Build a Better Stew: Scandinavian Gamebird Stew / How to Make Pheasant Sausage

Amy Thielen – Amy Thielen is the author of the James Beard award-winning book, The New Midwestern Table, and the memoir, Give a Girl A Knife (coming out May, 2017), and was the host of “Heartland Table” on Food Network. She worked for celebrated New York City chefs David Bouley, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Daniel Boulud before moving back home to the Midwest, and now speaks and writes about home cooking for radio and magazines, including Saveur, where she’s a contributing editor. She lives with her husband, visual artist Aaron Spangler, their son, his dog, and a bunch of chickens, in rural Park Rapids, Minnesota, and can be found on the web at www.amythielen.com and @amyrosethielen on Instagram and Twitter.
 
Wild Game Cooking Stage Seminars: Pate’ is French for Meatloaf / Pheasant for Starters: Kicking a Party off Right / The Best Bolognese is Venison Bolognese
 
Jack Hennessy – Author of the “Braising the Wild” blog, Hennessy’s outdoor heritage stems from the backcountry of Washington state where he pursued upland birds and big game animals while attending graduate school and later working as a line cook at the famed Elk Public House in Spokane. Hennessy has made a name for himself by authoring wild game recipes for a variety of publications including the Pheasants Forever Journal of Upland Conservation, The Spokesman-Review, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Outdoor News, and as a weekly columnist of “Game Gourmet” for the Pioneer Press. Read more about Hennessy’s passion for wild game cooking on his blog, and follow along on his Facebook page.
 
Wild Game Cooking Stage Seminars: Elmer Fudd’s Bunny Burgers / Kids & Quail Quesadillas
 
Jamie Carlson – Jamie Carlson, “The Cast-Iron Chef,” is a 41 year-old hunting, fishing, and foraging enthusiast who is widely known for his innovative wild game recipes featured by OutdoorLife and other hunting-related publications. Carlson’s appreciation of the hunt shows in his attention to detail, from scouting a new place to hunt to butchering wild game. Carlson enjoys sharing his knowledge with others about wild game preparation by hosting cooking classes and performing demonstrations on wild game butchery. He believes that all wild game is delicious, you just have to cook it right. Read more about Carlson’s passion for game meats at www.YouHavetoCookitRight.com and on Instagram at @YouCookitRight.
 
Wild game Cooking Stage Seminars: Pheasant Classics with a Twist

About Pheasants Forever

Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent; the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure. Since creation in 1982, Pheasants Forever has spent $708 million on 517,000 habitat projects benefiting 15.8 million acres nationwide.
 
Media Contact
Jared Wiklund
(651) 209-4953
jwiklund@quailforever.org