This is Kayla Lammy, a University of Illinois grad student who is also my cooking partner and guest chef for our first ever "cooking workshop" and feast on Saturday, October 4, 2025. Our group chopped, grated, mixed, sauteed, boiled, baked, and grilled for 3 hours to prepare the ultimate German Oktoberfest banquet. Thanks to guest chef Kayla Lammy for developing the recipes and leading the workshop. Here's the final menu of what we put on our buffet table:  Kaltes Buffet (cold buffet): Black Forest ham, Braunscheiger (liver sausage), Landjaeger (smoked meat sticks), salami, Gebrannte Mandeln (candied almonds), Waffelröllchen (wafer rolls), Café Kranze (shortbread cookies), Kartoffelstäbchen (potato sticks) Homemade soft pretzels with Obatzda (beer cheese dip) German sausage platter with Kayla's venison bratwurst, weisswurst, knockwurst, sauerkraut, horseradish sauce, mustard, pickles, bread Spaetz...

Meet Kayla Lammy , our guest chef for Urbana Park District's first-ever Oktoberfest cooking workshop and feast. Kayla is currently a second-year master’s student in the Food Science and Human Nutrition department at the University of Illinois who also grew up in rural Illinois. For Kayla's family, hunting was a way they sustained themselves, and she grew up eating ground deer meat, or venison, as a substitute for ground beef in most recipes. On Saturday, October 4 , Kayla will share her family's special bratwurst recipe along with all the other traditional German festival favorites that you expect at an authentic Oktoberfest banquet. Here's what's on the menu: Homemade Soft Pretzels with Obatzda (beer cheese dip) Kayla's Venison Bratwurst with Sauerkraut (traditional home recipe) Spaetzle (German egg dumplings with caramelized onions) Rotkohl (red cabbage with apples) Bayrischer Kartoffelsalat (Bavarian warm potato salad) Apfelk...

On Saturday, October 4 , we will be hosting our first-ever cooking workshop and feast to celebrate Oktoberfest. We invented the "workshop" format because a 2.5-hour evening class is simply not enough time to celebrate an event like Oktoberfest. So we're planning a 4-hour "cooking party" on a Saturday afternoon where we get to make all the traditional festival dishes you expect from a real German Oktoberfest celebration. Featured on the menu will be guest chef Kayla Lammy's venison bratwurst recipe. Growing up in rural Illinois, hunting was a way Kayla's family sustained themselves. She grew up eating ground deer meat, or venison, as a substitute for ground beef in most recipes. "Hunting, when done respectfully, is a great way to connect with the land and have a deeper appreciation for where our food comes from," says Kayla. Join us and learn how Kayla's family makes their own special bratwurst. Here's what ...

On Saturday, October 4, we will be hosting our first-ever cooking workshop and feast to celebrate Oktoberfest. Originating in the Bavarian city of Munich in 1810, Oktoberfest is now celebrated all over the world. In Urbana, we will celebrate this festival season with a traditional German banquet and cooking class featuring traditional German recipes, and of course, German beer. German cuisine is known for its hearty and savory dishes and a long tradition of sausage-making as well as fermentation of vegetables like cabbage. But the highlight of this cooking workshop will be guest chef Kayla Lammy's Deer Bratwurst, modified from a recipe from her father. We will be making this sausage from scratch along with a feast of traditional German favorites. This is a four-hour hands-on cooking workshop for adults where all students will participate in the preparation of all the dishes on the menu. Do come hungry and thirsty because the tuition includes a full festival menu, and you w...