Wednesday's episode of 'Top Chef' on Bravo features cranberries and a Wisconsin Rapids-area grower

BIRON – If you watch Wednesday’s episode of "Top Chef: Wisconsin" on Bravo (or Thursday on Peacock), you’ll see a local face.

Rochelle Biegel Hoffman – from Rooted in Red on the Dempze Cranberry family farm in Biron – is on Wednesday's episode that features Wisconsin cranberries. Hoffman told the Daily Tribune she is excited to be able to share Wisconsin’s cranberry industry with new and creative dishes and hopes the episode inspires people to enjoy cranberries in new ways all year.

“I tasted cranberries in ways I never have before on tonight’s episode,” she told a Daily Tribune reporter Wednesday.

Gail Simmons, a "Top Chef" judge, shared a post on Instagram Wednesday and tagged Rooted in Red in a post previewing the episode.

Holly Herline, a communications manager for the Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association, said the group partnered with other entities throughout the state to help bring the Bravo television show to Wisconsin this season. Wednesday's episode features Wisconsin cranberries and a cranberry grower.

“We had a number of growers from central Wisconsin that were instrumental in making this opportunity come to fruition and help tell the story on behalf of all the growers throughout the state,” Herline said.

You can watch "Top Chef: Wisconsin" at 8 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo. It will also air on the Peacock streaming service Thursday.

Rooted in Red will also be hosting a "Top Chef" viewing party Saturday to celebrate "Top Chef" in Wisconsin. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the episode will be shown at 6 p.m. at the event.

What is Rooted in Red?

Rooted in Red is a retail store and event space on the Dempze family farm at 1060 Center St. in Biron, just outside of Wisconsin Rapids. Jamie and Rocky Biegel are the owners and fourth-generation growers who operate on 80 acres of cranberry marshes and run Rooted in Red with their daughter, Rochelle Biegel Hoffman.

In 2021, Dempze Cranberry was featured on Family Dinner with Andrew Zimmern on the Magnolia Network on Discovery+, and Rooted in Red grew from there. In a 2021 interview with the Daily Tribune, Hoffman said opening the store and event venue with tours happened organically. As her brother, Vince Biegel, became more well-known, playing football in Madison for the UW Badgers and in the NFL, the family would get a huge outpouring of questions about cranberries.

Since opening, Rooted and Red has hosted many events during the summer months, along with harvest events and tours.

More about Top Chef Wisconsin: 'Top Chef: Wisconsin' Episode 8 recap: The Restaurant Wars wage on at Discovery World

Contact Caitlin at cshuda@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @CaitlinShuda.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Top Chef: Wisconsin on Bravo: Cranberries and Rooted in Red in Biron