‘What’s Next’ Week: 2024 in Wisconsin Food

The ‘Dairy State’ lives up to its name at the 2023 US Championship Cheese Contest. Wisconsin won nearly half (54 to be exact) of the 113 awards up for grabs, including the overall first runner-up: Vintage Cupola American Cheese, a hard raw milk cheese made by Door Artisan Cheese Company in Egg Harbor. The second runner-up also came from Wisconsin: A Medium Cheddar by Dillon Sylla of Blair.

Wisconsin scores a trio of medals at the World Beer Cup. The birthplace of the American beer industry walked away with two golds and a bronze at the 2023 competition. New Glarus’ Vintage 2022 won gold in the Belgian-Style Sour Ale category. Vintage Brewing Company, out of Sauk City, earned gold for its Pumpernickel Porter in the Herb and Spice category. And Madison nanobrewery ALT Brew won bronze in the Gluten-Free category for “Ripped Jeans and Wolf Shirts,” a double dry-hopped hazy IPA made from rice, millet, and buckwheat.

Two Madison chefs bring home James Beard Awards for Wisconsin. Itaru Nagano and Andrew Kroeger of Fairchild restaurant took home the prestigious title of “Best Chef Midwest”–the Oscars’ “Best Actor” equivalent of the food world. The chefs have quite the story: They opened their fine dining restaurant just two weeks before COVID shut it down.

From supper clubs to corner pubs, Wisconsin is home to more than 15,000 restaurants, bars, and food trucks that employ more than 275,000 people! And the options are growing. Here are three things to watch for in 2024.

New Restaurants: While you can always count on a new Culver’s (or two) to join the Wisconsin lineup, there are plenty of other smaller, Wisconsin-based eateries opening this year. The group behind Cafe Hollander is opening a new “throwback” restaurant with a beer garden later this year. And a local drive-in diner spot in Chippewa Falls is making a return under new ownership. Click here to find out what’s coming soon near you.

Same Staples: From strawberries to cookies, Wisconsin is known for its abundance of healthy and hearty food fests: The Ellsworth Cheese Curd Festival, the River Falls Bacon Bash, Fish Day in Ripon, and the list goes on. Mark your calendars for the return of these five food fests!

New Trends: Even in a meat and cheese-focused state like ours, plant-based options are on the rise. Look for meat-free and vegan-friendly options in 2024, as well as sustainable packaging, like biodegradable to-go boxes and eco-friendly silverware. Remember “The Great Cupcake Takeover of 2014”? Every year, certain foods surge in popularity. So, what’s on tap for this year?