NETT LAKE- The Bois Forte Band’s powwow at Nett Lake took a flavorful turn on Sunday when the celebration of the wild rice harvest included the event’s first-ever wild rice cooking contest.
The competition unfolded in the government center kitchen, where two very different dishes, prepared in advance and brought in for judging, offered both a more familiar take and a fresh twist on manoomin tradition.
Fond du Lac band member Eugene Olson claimed the title with his chicken wild rice soup, selected by three volunteer judges chosen at random from the crowd.
“What makes it special is the time I put into it,” Olson said. “I make it from scratch, with whole chickens that I debone. I take my time doing each ingredient individually, like the carrots, the celery, the bacon, all that stuff, and I like to add a lot of flavor into my broth.”
Olson said cooking is a passion that keeps him on the powwow trail.
“I enjoy cooking and I enjoy the compliments when they stop back and say the soup was good,” he said. “I just enjoy doing it. And I’m a people person, so I enjoy talking to people and serving people in a professional way.”
His lone competitor was Bois Forte band member Corinna Lyons, who runs a catering service called Creations by Corinna. She opted for dessert – a dense wild rice cake modeled after tres leches, one mirroring the creativity that’s part of her business name.
“I just took what I had, and I put this cake together,” Lyons said. “I went on the concept of a tres leches type cake, which is a really heavy, thick cream – you’ll notice that it’s very heavy. So it’s got wild rice and blueberries inside with condensed cream on top and 100 percent pure maple syrup. Then I chilled it, and after that, I put Cool Whip and addedcooked wild rice and fresh blueberries on top for a garnish.”
She finished it with “infused vanilla and cinnamon maple syrup on top,” describing it as “a very heavy, dense dessert.”
Although the judges ultimately picked Olson’s soup, they emphasized both dishes had strong appeal.
“The soup hit on all levels,” one said. “But the cake was very delicious, and the texture of it, everything went together well.”