Food | CoCo

The power of purple corn

January 5, 2012 | By

dball

Wednesday, Jan. 25
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
CoCo Minneapolis

CoCo Member Bill Petrich, CEO of Suntava, (recently featured in the Star Tribune) will talk about his company’s breakthrough product: a natural substitute for Red Dye No. 40, made from Peruvian purple corn.

Bill will talk about the challenges he faces in trying to grow the business and ask for ideas from attendees.

We’ll even serve up some purple corn in the form of homemade “chicha” (a traditional Peruvian soft drink) and purple corn chips. Come learn about an innovative business model and offer your ideas!

This is a members-only event.

Register at Eventbite

New services on tap

June 23, 2011 | By

dball

While our new space is being spiffed up, we’re working on all sorts of fun and necesary aspects of the CoCo experience in Minneapolis. Here, in no particular order, are items we’re working on.

On-site host/concierge services
Morning pastries from Aster Cafe
Espresso drinks
Daily lunch menu (including vegetarian options) from Republic
On-site tech support for Apple and PC products
Bike and hourly car rental facilities
Storage facilities
Access to Minneapolis Grain Exchange health club
A weekly videocast by Chuck Olsen of the The UpTake
Live podcasts by the Minnov8 gang
A full lineup of social and educational events and activities (see below)

We’ll communicate more about these items as the details are finalized! Meanwhile, do you have any suggestions?

Photo credit: tonx

Real Food Minnesota

June 29, 2010 | By

dball

July 17
9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Real Food Minnesota is a free event with a practical focus. For those with a new interest in learning about the food you buy and eat, we hope to unveil the mysteries of selecting and preparing healthy, delicious, and ethically-produced “real” food. Already comfortable in co-ops and your kitchen? Come hear about new ways to learn about food via the web, emerging sources of local ingredients year-round, and some of the great food communities being built throughout the Twin Cities. There will be:

Guided tours of the St. Paul Farmers Market with tips on how to buy fresh ingredients
Food prep demos with experienced chefs
Discussions led by folks doing cool things in the local food scene (topics include urban farming, the ethics of eating, and more)
Opportunity to chat with other curious and enthusiastic eaters, and to learn about ways to get more involved with our local food system

Join us for the day, or come and go for the session(s) you are interested in. No experience necessary…just come hungry to learn!

Learn more and register at the Real Food Minnesota site!

Waffles!!!

June 18, 2010 | By

Toby Cryns

I rode my bike 11 miles to CoCo today in order to enjoy Prof. Don Ball’s legendary waffles. And what a joy it was!

Don spent a good two hours this morning manning the waffle iron in the CoCo kitchen, keeping a continuous flow of waffles coming for the early morning faithful.

Lacking all of the flair (runny fruit, whipped cream, etc.) that covers up the taste of poorly-cooked waffles at IHOP, Don’s waffles stood on the merits of their highly-delectable flavor and golden personality. These were the type of waffles that would have made Betty Crocker proud!

Thanks, Don!

Let’s get real about MN food

February 3, 2010 | By

dball

This Monday, a few of the Minnesota food faithful trudged through the snow to talk about a potential unconference on food. What kind of food? Well, that was one of the items up for discussion, but the general idea was that we wanted to talk about the groundswell of interest and activity in the area of food that is among other things, organic, locally grown, and lovingly made.

Below is a summary of the meeting, kindly put together by Kristi Hamilton. We agreed to post this summary and ask for comments and suggestions from the food community, which in our mind means producers, distributors, journalists, bloggers, restauranteurs, cafeteria managers – and of course, eaters! So, if you’re in any of these categories, feel free to leave a comment!