Sandstone, MN -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/05/2014 -- This spring, the Audubon Center of the North Woods (ACNW) near Sandstone, MN, will once again be holding their unique all-inclusive 'Food & Farms Weekend' and have recently confirmed the renowned keynote speakers for both Friday and Saturday nights of that event.

Held April 17-19, 2015, this one-of-a-kind experience brings together people committed to farm-to-table sustainable food practices. Over the weekend, participants choose from a variety of expert-led on-site workshops on gardening, cooking and food preservation, attend off-site field trips to local farmers and producers, and enjoy engaging evening presenters.

'Grow it, Raise it, Preserve it, Prepare it' is the tagline of this special event at ACNW. The weekend is focused on teaching participants to get back to the basics and learn new skills on the most elemental of our needs and pleasures: Food.

On the evening of April 17, 2015, Tom Hanson, owner of the Duluth Grill, and his urban farm manager Francois Medion will talk about building sustainable food systems in an urban environment. Tom, with his wife Jaima, took over the Duluth Grill (Duluth, MN) in 2001 and have turned it into Duluth's number one restaurant with a menu that's almost 100% scratch-made. The Duluth Grill believes in sourcing locally and producing some of its own food as a way of building sustainable food systems right in our own backyard. To help supply the restaurant with produce, they have developed an urban farm with the help of Francois Medion. In addition to being the farm manager of the Duluth Grill, Francois is an expert on local plants, sustainable practices, and foraging for edible plants.

Chef Lenny Russo, owner of Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul, will be speaking on Saturday evening, April 18. Lenny, with his wife Mega Hoehn, opened 50-seat Heartland Restaurant in St. Paul in 2002, which today includes a market, two private dining rooms, three chef’s tables, a 60-seat lounge and an 80-seat dining room. Before Heartland, Lenny was Executive Chef of W.A. Frost in St. Paul and has extensive experience at some of the best restaurants in Minneapolis. In March 2007, he was named ‘Restaurateur of the Year’ by Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine and every year since 2010 he has been nominated as Best Chef: Midwest Category by the James Beard Foundation. Lenny also sits on the Organic Advisory Task Force to the MN Depart. of Agriculture.

A few benefits of local, sustainable food sources and practices are personal satisfaction, superior taste and freshness, better nutritional value, reduction in grocery expenses and lessening your environmental footprint. It is an instructional and enlightening weekend filled with expert led workshops to include gardening, baking, food preserving, off site field trips plus much more and the opportunity to get back to the basics and learn new or refresh old skills.

"We are excited to offer an entire weekend of knowledge dedicated to giving people the resources to be more self sufficient with sustainable food choices,"said Bryan Wood, Executive Director at ACNW. "In addition to having these wonderful keynote speakers lined up, we are also thrilled to have European-trained Chef Monique Hooker return as an instructor."

With an array of class choices instructed by experts to include cooking, canning, growing, composting, beekeeping, dehydrating plus many more, there are many choices for participants to choose from. In addition to the food-focused classes, workshops and field trips, Advanced Naturalists from the Center will lead guided nature hikes and a sustainable energy tour.

On-site accommodations include comfortable lodging, delicious scratch-made meals and access to the Audubon Center's 535 acres and 7+ miles of trails. Lodging, meals, and all programming are included in the all-inclusive weekend fee.

For more information, pricing, early registration discounts and online registration, visit Food & Farms Weekend 2015.