White Gull Inn – Fish Creek, Wisconsin.
White Gull Inn is an historic bed & breakfast situated in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, near Peninsula State Park. At the grand old age of 120 years, the Inn was the first building in a resort built by Dr. Herman Welcker. Visitors from as far away as Chicago used to flock to the elegant property to escape the summer heat at the turn of the 20th century.
This year (2016), Jan and Andy Coulson celebrate 45 years as owners of White Gull. They’ve lovingly maintained the Inn, keeping its historical charm intact while adding modern comforts such as whirlpools.
But how famous is their cherry breakfast dish? Well, it won the Good Morning America Breakfast Challenge best breakfast contest in 2010!
The White Gull Inn award winning breakfast dish was Cherry Stuffed French Toast. And I can guarantee you that it deserved the prize!
White Gull Inn prize-winning French toast.
My favorite parts of this French toast recipe were the cream cheese and Door County’s famous Montmorency tart cherries. You can try it yourself if you like, as the recipe is online at: ABC News, Good Morning America Recipes.
Video of White Gull Inn and the Exciting Event
Montmorency cherries are an important part of the White Gull Inn French toast recipe. Luckily, I got the opportunity to visit Door County in 2015 during cherry season–and even pick some myself!
Cherries have a long history in Door County, starting back in 1896 with the first trees being planted around the city of Sturgeon Bay. The popularity of the tart fruit caught on quickly, and in 1917 it took 230 railroad cars to haul the cherries to market.
The Door County Historical Museum in Sturgeon Bay even features an old newspaper announcement and wedding photo, from July 22, 1939, of a couple taking their marriage vows in a large vat of cherry juice. Joe Tilken’s orchestra played at the evening festivities and admission for all was $.15. Now that’s really getting immersed in the cherry industry!
While the number of trees in production is much lower than during that era, there are still over 2000 acres of Montmorency cherries in Door County, as well as numerous acres of several other varieties.
Many you-pick orchards are open to the public. This list is from the Wisconsin Cherry Growers organization. Stop in and get some fresh off the tree if you’re visiting Wisconsin this summer.
Here’s the Door County Cherry story in a 20 second video clip.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank Door County Visitor Bureau for hosting me on their cherry immersion press trip.