 Tommy Hexter, right, dishes out a serving of his “Silence of the Lamb” soup at the annual Stew Fest held on Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Grinnell Area Arts Council. Hexter said the key to a good soup is local ingredients. He thought “Silence of the Lamb” would be a good name for his soup creation. By J.O. Parker An estimated 90 plus people, young and old, filed into the Grinnell Area Arts Council (GAAC) building in Grinnell on Saturday evening, Feb. 8, for the annual Stew Fest. The event, which is sponsored by GAAC and the Stew Makerspace, brought some of the area’s best stew and soup chefs with their creations together for an evening of soup and stew tasting, fellowship and fundraising. The Stew Fest event drew 13 chefs offering a variety of soups and stews. There was everything from chicken noodle soup to Butternut Squash Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup, Moroccan Tomato Soup, Utterly Magical Potato Lentil Stew, Broccoli and Cheese Soup and Silence of the Lambs Stew. Many of the creations were labeled vegetarian, nut and dairy free. Brian and Kathy Sogard of Kellogg brought their Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork Stew. When asked what the secret was to their creation, Kathy said, “Good ingredients and time to cook.” Brian said he smoked the pork for six hours. “We are going to win this,” said Kathy as she nudged Brian with a chuckle. “We are here to have fun,” replied Brian as the two smiled. The couple finished in second place. This is fifth Stew Fest and the third since Covid. The event is held to raise funds for the Stew Makerspace located at 927 Broad St. in Grinnell. The Stew, as it’s called, is a place where individuals and groups can exercise their creativity in ceramics, woodworking, 3D printing, metal working, laser engraving and much more. Following is a list of chefs and their creations. They included: Harira – a Moroccan Tomato Soup - Michael Hunter Marry Me Chicken Noodle Soup - Kate Baumgarter Creamy Vegetable Soup - Jordan Esbrook Butternut Squash Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew - Mary Lindberg Curry Lentil Soup - Gina Donovan Utterly Magical Potato Lentil Stew - Erik Simpson Tuscan Lemon Artichoke Soup - Lisa Bacon Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork Stew - Brian and Kathy Sogard Creamy Black Lentil and Mushroom Stew - Rebecca Loew Vegetarian Chili - Cecilia Knight and Rita Mertens Broccoli and Cheese Soup - Chefs from Stew Makerspace Jay’s Homestyle Chicken Noddle Soup - Jay’s Deli Silence of the Lambs Stew - Tommy Hexter Guests purchased tickets to taste-test the various stews and soups and used them to vote on their favorites. The winners were Mary Lindberg, third place with her Butternut Squash Sweet Potato and Lentil Stew; Sogards, second place with their Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork Stew; and Gina Donovan, who took the crown and first place title with her Curry Lentil Soup. The event included a silent auction of numerous Stew Makerspace creations and other donated items. Tommy Hexter, who stirred up a batch of “Silence of the Lambs” Soup, said the key to a good soup is local ingredients. “I like to know where it comes from,” said Hexter of the ingredients. “It just tastes better.” When asked about the name, Hexter said he was trying to be creative in naming his soup. “It’s spooky and goofy,” Hexter said of the name and the movie. “I figured if I’m going to name my soup after “Silence of the Lambs,” I needed to watch the movie.” Which he did last week. “It’s a wild ride for the stew eater,” Hexter said of his creation. “I was really working to make something that tested great that everyone one could eat,” said Erick Simpson, who made and served Utterly Magical Potato Lentil Stew. “Balance – not too thick and not too thin,” said Gina Donovan, who brought her award-winning Curry Lentil Soup to the event. This was Donovan’s first year to enter the Stew Fest and she took home the top prize. Rita Mertens, a teacher at Grinnell, said the key to her Vegetarian Chili was a perfect mix of love and texture. “It is very important,” she said. “You have to know the difference between a stew and soup.” She said a stew is hardy and a soup smooth. Michael Hunter, who brought a Moroccan Tomato Soup, said the key is lot of spices and time to cook. “It’s got chickpeas, lentils, chicken and tomatoes,” he said of his creation. Jill Petsel, who was taking a break while taste-testing some chicken noodle soup, said “It’s delicious.” “I’m generally not a chicken noodle eater, but I tried it and I’m a fan,” she said. “It has a little bit of kick to it.” Nancy Guenther of Grinnell said she had tried about six different soups and her favorites were the Butternut Squash and Creamy Vegetable with fennel in it. “It’s really good, especially with potatoes,” she said of the creamy vegetable. “The Stew is awesome,” said Hridaya Ghosh, a Grinnell College student who was helping at the Saturday night event. “There is a lot of good community support at this event.” Robin Linse, a Grinnell College student helping at the Stew Fest, is one of the chefs of the Stew Makerspace Broccoli and Cheese Soup entry. “It’s a good way to meet people from the community,” said Linse. “We all cooked this together.” “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and collaborate food and art,” said Craig Gibbens, program manager at the GAAC. Gibbens helped put the Stew Fest event together. All funds raised from this event go to support the operations of the Arts Council's community makerspace, the Stew Makerspace, keeping patron fees low for community members and free for Grinnell High School students. It was not known at press time how much the event raised. For more information on GAAC, visit https://www.grinnellarts.org.
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