1 • Wednesday, May 8, 2019 - Shopper’s Guide
Serving the communities in Stephenson County
Shopper’s Guide
VOL. 81 • NO. 19
YOUR FREE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER
Pearl City chef cooks up a TV appearance By John Day
CORRESPONDENT
Cory Oppold grew up on a dairy farm near Pearl City. He graduated from Pearl City High School and went off to college in Phoenix, Arizona to pursue a career in architecture. Along the way, Oppold had his first fine dining experience and knew immediately that he had to shift gears in his life and become a chef. That shift led Oppold to the Scottsdale Culinary Institute where he would graduate with honors. Today, Oppold is the Executive Chef with Atlas Bistro in Scottsdale, Arizona. Oppolds professional reputation and image continue to grow. On May 14, Oppold will be appearing as a contestant on the Food Network television program Chopped. If you’re a Foodie, a person that has become hooked on fine dining, then you will have tuned into the Food Network channel to watch Chopped, a reality cooking competition. Chopped, premiering in 2009, is one of the Food Networks longest running and most popular programs. The competition is a contest between 4 chefs who must prepare an appetizer, entre’ and dessert using secret and unusual ingredients from baskets that are given to the chefs just prior to creating each course of the meal. Each course, when completed, is tasted by a panel of judges who are renowned chefs themselves. The judges appearing on the show have been the likes of Bobby Flay, Alton Brown and Martha Stewart. As the courses of the meal are sampled one of the chefs is eliminated, or, chopped. The last chef to avoid being chopped is the winner of the contest and a 10 thousand dollar cash prize. There’s much more involved in the production of this reality television program than that which is seen in its one hour broadcast length. Most episodes take 12 hours
or more to film. During the broadcast of an episode the judges render their decision within minutes. In actuality, the judges often take 20 minutes or longer to deliberate and come to the decision of who will be chopped in each round. In Oppolds home town there’s an eatery that is becoming well known in its own right. The Route 73 Brew and Chew has become well celebrated for its menu of gourmet burgers. In fact, in August of 2017, the Brew and Chew was rated number 1 with the best all beef burger in the State by the Illinois Beef Association. Just recently, the Brew and Chew announced its latest burger creation, the Chicago Slam. The Slam is a 100 percent all beef hamburger covered with cheese and a Chicago style hot dog. In addition to the slam there are more than 20 gourmet burgers on the menu. The eatery has, in addition to other menu items, a selection of fine beers on tap.. To honor Chef Oppold, Route 73 Brew & Chew in Pearl City will be having a special event on the night that Oppold appears on the cooking competition. During the broadcast of Chopped there will be a live podcast of the event, streaming on the internet from within the restaurant. There will be ample opportunity for the crowd to cheer for the hometown favorite. Refat Hasankolli, owner and manager of the Brew and Chew said, “I have a bit of inside knowledge about this, so, we’ll be putting a special burger selection on the menu as well as some drink specials from the bar.” Chopped will air on the Food Network at 8 pm on May 14. Check listings for which channel broadcasts the Food Network on your cable or satellite system. The Route 73 Brew and Chew is located at 201 E. Main St. in Pearl City. 815443-3222. There is also a Facebook page.
Spring Is Here. Hail Storms Could Be Too! Don’t Let Hail Ruin Your Crop Income.
Nick Raab
www.radersinsurance.com
815-369-4225 240 W. Main St., Suite A, Lena, IL 61048
309208
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2019
COURTESY PHOTO Shopper’s Guide
Ag Adventures
Pearl City fifth grader Max Freier holds a pig at Ag Adventures.
100 Women Who Care meeting set for May 9 Our next 100 Women Who Care-Stephenson County quarterly meeting will be Thursday, May 9 at Wayside Saloon (1802 Crossroads Lane N., Freeport), Social Hour/new member registration 5:30-6:30 p.m., Meeting 6:30-7:30 p.m. Congratulations to the Dakota PTO! Last week they were presented with $13,650 to go toward their summer Bookmobile. Dakota’s Bookmobile was organized by Shelby Bordner in the summer of 2017 when the school’s library was under construction and inaccessible to
students. One day each week a truck was rented, filled with books and driven to seven stops within the Dakota School boundaries. Each week they would serve 50-80 students. Throughout the summer of 2018, the Bookmobile was continued with even more success. Thanks to the donation from 100 Women Who Care members, the Dakota summer library program plans to improve the Bookmobile with the purchase of more books, a checkout system, and sound system. Plans will also be made to improve the current method of de-
livery. Congratulations once again to the Dakota PTO. And thanks to Maime Curry and Heidi Ludolph for presenting on their behalf. As always, you can follow us on Facebook and we love new members so bring a friend to the meeting. Since the initiation of 100 Women Who Care-Stephenson County in February of 2015, members have donated $194,950 (including the $10,000 private family foundation matching donation) to local non-profit organizations. Thank you for being a part of it.
Stop in for Mother’s Day In-Store Specials We Del
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a Bouquets & Corsages a Candles Localver
a Beautiful Outdoor Plants & Hanging Baskets 216 W. Main St. • Lena, IL 815-369-5549 Devoefloral@yahoo.com
HOURS: Mon. - Fri. 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sat. 8:30 a.m. - Noon Open Sat., May 11th 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
a Garden Art & Birdhouses a Giftware a Fresh Floral Arrangements a Mother’s Day Cards a Abdallah Chocolates
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