Jon Bennion

Clancy

Food Columnist at Montana Free Press

Attorney • Husband • Father • Intermediate Chef • Woodcarver • Presidential Leadership Scholar 2018 • Philadelphia Eagles fan 🦅🏈

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Articles

Making the most of summer’s beautiful veggie bounty

1 week ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. We’re heading into one of my favorite seasons: farmers’ market season. While it may take a bit before fresh produce starts to show up at the stands, it’s not too early to bookmark this recipe, which collects the bounty of Montana into a healthy and delicious dish for summer. I’ve lived in many places around the state with seasonal farmers’ markets that seem to expand each year.
Introducing the Big Sky kebab burger

3 weeks ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Intermediate Chef Jon Bennion is taking a springtime break this week. In his absence, we’re republishing his kebab column from May of last year. Jon will be back in MTFP with fresh cooking content on May 5. I like grilling any time of year.
Cheeseburger? Grilled cheese? The patty melt is the best of both worlds.

1 month ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Whenever I’m traveling in Big Sky Country and find myself in a diner, tavern or kitchen-equipped hole-in-the-wall, there’s one dish I’ll order every time I see it on the menu: the patty melt.
Showcase Montana-grown chickpeas with homemade falafal

1 month ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. Whether it’s Easter, Passover, Ramadan, spring equinox or something else you celebrate this time of year, there is rebirth in the air at the end of March and beginning of April. In my kitchen, I start to think about shifting away from the heavier comfort foods of winter and consider the possibilities that spring brings to the table.
Bangers and biscuits

2 months ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. If you’re planning to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a traditional Irish meal, chances are it will be corned beef and cabbage. If that’s your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, stick with the classic. But if you’re feeling lucky and want to try something new come March 17, you should go with this Irish bangers and biscuits.
Adding Eritrea to Montana’s culinary table

2 months ago | mtstandard.com | Jon Bennion

The fabric of our state is woven by the rich traditions and heritages of so many people, including families and individuals who are newer arrivals. This includes people like Takea, a Montanan who arrived from the east African country of Eritrea. Takea came to Big Sky Country in 2017. Migration anywhere is often the result of people seeking new opportunities or fleeing conflict. For Takea it was the latter.
A delicious culinary contribution from Indian Country

2 months ago | mtstandard.com | Jon Bennion

No discussion of Montana’s food heritage can really start without talking about the very first Montanans — our diverse tribal communities and nations both on reservations and spread out through the rest of our communities. The food options and diets of Montana’s diverse American Indians varied from tribe to tribe prior to European people coming on the scene. In the West, the importance of harvesting bison for food, clothing, tools and more cannot be overstated.
A Mexican classic to add to Montana’s food story

2 months ago | mtstandard.com | Jon Bennion

Continuing in my quest to find Montanans that have helped add to the story of our state’s culinary heritage, I reached out to friends Adam and Erika Mendez that run El Vaquero Taqueria as a true mom-and-pop Mexican restaurant in Helena. Their restaurant is a small establishment with no inside seating offering lunch service most weekdays and sometimes take-home dinners. It’s attached to a barber shop on a one-way street close to the Capitol building.
Building a tastier pasty

2 months ago | montanafreepress.org | Jon Bennion

Wide Open Table is a bi-monthly Montana Free Press column on all things food and cooking. Sign up for this newsletter here. If you’re a longtime Montana resident, there’s a good chance you’ve consumed a pasty or two. And the closer you reside to Butte or Anaconda, that number will go up exponentially. These original hot pockets, brought to America by Cornish immigrants (that’s right, they’re not Irish), have a special place in the hearts of many in Big Sky County, including me.
Chili power: A game-day recipe that scores year-round

Jan 29, 2025 | dailyinterlake.com | Jon Bennion

A good bowl of chili can be enjoyed as a main course or side dish year-round, but it’s an especially apt accompaniment to February’s Super Bowl, deployed as a game-day topping on hot dogs and fries or in a chili cheese dip with tortilla chips. Whatever time of year, chili is one of the quintessential comfort foods of the West. The good news is it doesn’t have to be complicated. This particular chili recipe is one of the simplest and most versatile you’ll find.