Age-old cooking process used to spark new interest at Ronan Harvest Festival contest

By MICHELLE LOVATO

Lake County Leader

Anza Ketterman LaBonty and her husband, Dennis LaBonty, of Polson, shared their love for Dutch oven cooking in an outside classroom Saturday. 

A few sprinkles of rain fell on the cooking fans who attended, but not enough to thwart the crowd interested in learning the age-old art the LaBontys taught.

Sponsored by the Ronan Chamber of Commerce, the Dutch oven cooking class was a prelude to a Dutch oven cooking contest at Ronan’s 2016 Harvest Festival.

Ronna Walchuk, Ronan Chamber of Commerce board member and Ronan Beautification Committee member, said the art of Dutch oven cooking is popular and practical.

Because of the process used to cook with a Dutch oven, it is perfect for all purposes that include fishing, camping, rafting, tailgating and just about any outdoor activity.

“The possibilities are endless,” Walchuk said. 

And Dutch oven cooking is a lot more fun.

AnzaLaBonty, who sported University of Montana outerwear, taught the class of about two dozen people from across Lake County, while Dennis LaBonty kept careful watch over the Dutch oven cooking pots that simmered in their nest of white-hot charcoal.

Anza LaBonty said one of their favorite uses for Dutch oven cooking is tailgating at UM sports events.

As Anza spoke, answered questions and shared her love for the art, Dennis steadily rotated the pots and the charcoal buttons that warmed the top and bottom of each cast-iron Dutch oven pan, providing a fireless heat source for a continuous, even cooking process.

Walchuk said organizers of the event want to encourage class participants to take their knowledge home, test out their own recipes and return with entries to the Ronan Harvest Festival’s first-ever Dutch Oven Cookoff in September.

Everyone is welcome to participate in the cookoff, Walchuk said.  Attending class is not a requirement of participation.

Full details about the new Harvest Festival contest can be found by visiting the Ronan Chamber of Commerce website, www.ronanchamber.com.

When the class was finished, participants enjoyed the fruits of the LaBontys’ labor and tasted the variety of slow-cooked items the couple used to teach the class.