-Submitted photo courtesy of Iowa State Fair
One hundred fairgoers will get to enjoy a special Iowa-based homegrown meal prepared by three renowned local chefs for the Farm to Fair Meal at the 2026 Iowa State Fair.

DES MOINES — One hundred lucky fairgoers will enjoy a special Iowa-based homegrown meal prepared by three renowned local chefs for the Farm to Fair Meal at the 2026 Iowa State Fair.

Farm-to-table events have exploded in popularity as a way to educate non-farmers about agriculture while generating an additional source of funding through agrotourism efforts by a farming operation. The Iowa State Fair took that one step farther and decided to host a Farm to Fair Meal.

The Farm to Fair Meal started in 2019 and is held every other year in partnership with various ag organizations, including Choose Iowa, the Iowa Beef Industry Council, Iowa Egg Council, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Soybean Association and Midwest Dairy, explained Emily Wynn, education and outreach manager for the Iowa State Fair.

“We have always loved the idea of how the fair can be a place for everyone to get their ag questions answered and that is what Farm to Fair was designed for — to be that place where farmers and consumers can sit down and have a meal together,” Wynn said.

The fair offered 100 people the chance to win two tickets each, and they will be seated alongside 100 farmers at the Farm to Fair Meal, held at the Alliant Energy Landing. This year, more than 900 people entered for a seat at the table.

“The Iowa State Fair’s mission is to showcase and connect all fairgoers to agriculture and that is what Farm to Fair is all about. With adding Choose Iowa as the presenting sponsor for the event, it was a great way to not only connect consumers with agriculture, but to also showcase large and small farmers across Iowa who work tirelessly every day to put food on our tables,” Wynn said.

The guests at the table will delight in a fanciful, creative, Iowa-grown menu created by Chef Grant Gillon, a 2023 MasterChef winner and private chef from Altoona; Chef Aaron Holt, owner and operator of Doolittle Farm in Story City; and Chef Andrea Love, owner and operator of Dinner Delights in Des Moines.

Gillon specializes in using Midwestern ingredients with a flair of creativity and works closely with Iowa farmers, dairies and producers.

Holt grows many of his own ingredients on his family’s century farm, with an emphasis on regenerative agriculture, and also runs a catering business. He specializes in using his own foods, alongside fellow farmers’ products, to create visually appealing and delicious dishes.

Love started her business as a meal prep service and now offers freezer meals as well as custom catering. She was honored in 2025 with the Choose Iowa Award for the Most Innovative Use of Local Ingredients at the Iowa Restaurant Association’s culinary competition.

“All three chefs are icons in Iowa, and we are so excited to have them on board,” Wynn said. “They are all amazing.”

The menu includes a first course by Love of breakfast pot pie; the second course by Gillon will be chilled fire-roasted sweet corn bisque with smoked beef; the third course by Holt features sous vide Iowa beef confit with whipped herbed potatoes, local harvest vegetables, peppercorn beef gray and pea tendrils; and the fourth course highlights Picket Fence Creamery ice cream.

Considering how wildly popular the Farm to Fair Meal happens to be, Wynn said organizers “will see what 2027 holds” when it comes to bumping the event up to an annual affair.