Billings' local food scene is bootstrapping and standing tall. Renowned restaurants like TEN boast menus that showcase distinctive local ingredients from trout roe to foraged mushrooms. Restaurants and artisans source from centuries-old establishments like the McGowan family farm, which provides grain to Trailhead Spirits distillery. Mingling regional cuisine with the cosmopolitan influences of far-flung cities, homegrown spots like Lilac and Field House garner national attention with their daily dishes. Teppanyaki cooking and innovative global offerings are quickly diversifying the foodscape. Food journalist Stella Fong provides an eclectic sampling of the people, restaurants, producers and suppliers that contribute to the city's growing palate.
A former cooking instructor for Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, Gelson's Super Market, Macy's Cellars, Great News! Cooking School and currently for the Montana State University Billings Foundation, Stella Fong's writing has appeared in Yellowstone Valley Woman magazine, Big Sky Journal, Blue Water Sailing, Western Art and Architecture, Magic magazine, Cooking Light, Fine Cooking, the Washington Post, TheLastBestPlates.com, lastbestnews.com, vinography.com, and stellafong.com.