Showing posts with label local food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local food. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Food Dance Celebrates 20 Years of Locally-Focused Culinary & Agricultural Experiences

You’re invited to a 20th Anniversary Farm to Street Party, August 30 at Food Dance in Kalamazoo.

In honor of this long-standing tradition, Food Dance is hosting two give-back events to recognize the farmers, producers, staff and community that have been essential to their success and growth. From Noon to 4pm, a “Flavor Festival” will celebrate all things local: food, drink, music and more. Then, starting at 6pm, a community “Long Table Dinner” featuring a four-course family-style meal, each with a Michigan wine pairing, space is limited. All proceeds from both events benefit Fair Food Matters – Growing Matters Garden program.

There are tiered ticket prices for each event. Choose between $20 and $30 eco-friendly ticket for the Flavor Festival. A $20 festival ticket provides admission and 4 small plates (or 4 tickets). A $30 festival ticket also includes a Food Dance 20th Anniversary Edition Camelbak® water bottle. Additional food and drink tickets will be available for purchase at the event.

Tickets for the Long Table Dinner range from $100 to $150 per person with a portion of each ticket including a direct donation to the Fair Food Matters – Growing Matters Garden Program at Woodward School. The $150 level also includes a limited edition commemorative Food Dance 20th Anniversary T-shirt featuring local artists.

Over the years, Food Dance has built a strong relationship with dozens of local and regional growers, producers and farmers who have helped craft a one-of-a-kind menu that is fresh, inventive and appeals to the senses. Through its commitment to building a thriving and sustainable local food system, Food Dance creates casual and inviting opportunities for people to come together and connect through the experience of food.

Food Dance is dedicated to relationships that support artisans who practice craft food processes that have been around for generations—growing, raising, preserving, curing, aging, pickling, butchering and more. This is evident not only in the daily menus, but in the special dining experiences and educational programs that are aimed to introduce guests to new elements of the culinary and agricultural worlds.

An on-site market also offers amazing ingredients sourced from a family of purveyors–from sustainable, humanely-raised meats, housemade sausages and artisan cheeses, to housemade bread, pastries and savory baked goods. The market also offers a selection of speciality sauces, pickled produce, pastas, wines, cooking accessories and cookbooks, making it a great place for stocking the pantry or refrigerator, and for personal & gift shopping.

“For me it's important to know the values and practices of the people we buy our food from,” says owner Julie Stanley. “Caring for the planet, my community and my health are decisions I consciously make. I try to eat well because I just feel better. Knowing where my food comes from matters to me.”

Long before it became a trend in our society to eat locally (for so many cultures this was and remains their only choice, lucky them) I found that shopping at the Farmers Markets made the food I was cooking taste much better. Here at Food Dance, we’ve found the same rings true. I know it makes it more challenging for our chefs to prep all this fresh food and our wait staff to remember all the seasonal changes that show up on our menus, but they taste the difference so they feel it is worth it. We hope you feel the same way.”

Food Dance creates opportunities for people to come together and connect through the experience of food. We passionately cook with the freshest locally produced ingredients and believe in giving great, caring service, and providing great experiences for everyone we come in contact with.

FOOD DANCE
401 E. Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo MI 49007

www.FoodDance.net
www.facebook.com/FoodDanceRestauran
www.twitter.com/Food_Dance

Thursday, September 12, 2013

2013 Kent Harvest Trails Map Available Now

Twenty farms in the Greater Grand Rapids area are participating in this year’s Kent Harvest Trails, providing families the opportunity to enjoy loads of country fun. Activities and tours begin mid September and run through the end of October (although farms may actually open sooner and extend their season into early November, weather permitting).

Families can take tractor- or horse-drawn wagon rides through the orchards or to the pumpkin patch, visit with animals in the petting zoo, wander the corn maze and make a scarecrow to take home. Enjoy a fresh baked donut and watch as apples are pressed into sweet cider. Visit the farm markets for local produce or head out to pick your own fruit. Then, shop for baked goods, fall plants, home decorations and seasonal gifts. Admission for many farms is free, although there may be charges for certain activities.

Participating farms this year include At the Barn, Blok Orchards, Bos Greenhouse and Farm, Ed Dunneback & Girls Farm, Frozen Creek Floral & Farm, Fruit Ridge Hayrides, H & W Farms, Harder & Warner Nursery, Heffron Farms, Heidi’s Farm Stand, Honey Creek Farm, Klackle Orchards, Koetsier’s Greenhouse, Orchard Hill Farm, Paulson’s Pumpkin Patch, Post Family Farm, Robinette’s Apple Haus & Winery, Schwallier’s Country Basket, Sietsema Orchards & Cider Mill and Steffens Orchards & Market.

An updated map of participating farms, including directions and dates/hours of operation, are online at KentHarvestTrails.org. Printed brochures are now available for free at more than 30 area Family Fare Supermarkets and D&W Fresh Markets.

www.KentHarvestTrails.org
www.facebook.com/KentHarvestTrails

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Porkapalooza – An All Day Local Farm & Harvest Celebration Encourages Everyone to “Save Gas, Eat Pork”


(FENNVILLE, Mich) – A day-long celebration of hog-proportion called PORKAPALOOZA is planned for Saturday, October 4, rain or shine. The farm party and harvest celebration, touting the eco-friendly slogan “Save Gas, Eat Pork,” will benefit The Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance. The SDCA will also provide volunteers and expertise to this already green-minded effort.

Local restaurants, Journeyman Café & Rye, are joining forces with New Holland Brewing Company and Fenn Valley Vineyard & Winery to host the event at the 14-acre Red Horse Ranch, located just outside of downtown Fennville, on 62nd Street, ¾ of a mile south of M89. The event, which runs from Noon to Midnight, will feature all things local – live music, pork, produce, beer and wine.

“Those of us involved in PORKAPALOOZA share common ground in our pursuit of quality and our belief in championing local, sustainable lifestyles,” says Fred Bueltmann, Beervangalist at New Holland Brewing. “The event will shine a light on some of the areas treasures, including not only the products available, but the creative energy of many local artisans and musicians. Hosting an 800-plus person event, while sticking to earth-friendly ideals, will showcase some of the realities around sustainable living.”

PORKAPALOOZA attendees will live high on the hog throughout the day, with an on-going menu of pork products from Creswick Farms and Providence Farms including pulled pork on Journeyman sandwich bread with homemade Memphis-style barbecue, homemade bratwurst and sausage, Michigan-made whole grain mustard, corn on the cob, fresh homemade sides, fresh fried chips from Visser Farm potatoes, kosher dill pickles, and for the non-meat lovers, Joel’s famous barbecued tofu, made with China Rose tofu of Ann Arbor. For the sweet tooth, Michigan apples dunked in caramel and scattered with bacon brittle, complete the menu.

Throughout the afternoon, Journeyman Chef Matthew Millar will demonstrate traditional and innovative techniques in preparation for three feature pig presentations: The Eastern American Barbecue & Smokehouse at 2 pm, Luau Pig at 5 pm and La Caja China at 8 pm. Portions of the feature presentations are limited and may be purchased in advance.

2 pm – Eastern American Barbecue & Smokehouse: Sample the lesser know Carolina and Appalachian style barbecue. Pork shoulder, ribs and loin will be hot smoked and “mopped” with a tangy vinegar and mustard sauce, foregoing tomatoes. Served with skillet cornbread, kohlrabi & apple slaw with a traditional Southern boiled dressing, and baked beans with Tennessee air dried ham.

5 pm – Luau Pig: Inspired by the Hawaiian tradition, a pig is buried in a pit of hot stones. A few days before, a team of men will dig a coffin-sized hole in the ground and line it with field stones. Early Porkapalooza morning, a very large and dangerous fire will be built in said hole and when it has burned down to coals, the men will lower a 75 pound hog – wrapped in banana leaves and burlap – and bury it under about three feet of earth. After several hours, a tender luau pig will emerge, served with gingered sweet potatoes and pineapple sticky rice.

8 pm – La Caja China: “Pig in a Coffin” is a Cuban preparation, roasting the pig inside a wooden box. A Cuban native watched the Chinese who came to the island to help build the railroads cook their lunch in large, metal lined wood boxes topped with a bed of coals. After just a few short hours, a juicy, perfectly cooked pig would emerge with impossibly crispy skin. Enough said. Our Providence Farm pig will be marinated in garlic mojo and served with roasted pumpkin and raw sweet onions in oil and vinegar.

Local beers and wines from New Holland Brewing Company and Fenn Valley Winery will make for pleasant pork pairings. New Holland will debut Charkoota Rye – a smoked rye dopplebock brewed to celebrate PORKAPALOOZA and the art of charcuterie. They will bring a host of other beers including Mad Hatter IPA, Full Circle Kolsch, Ichabod Pumpkin Ale, The Poet Oatmeal Stout and Dragon’s Milk barrel-aged ale. Fenn Valley, which is located adjacent to the fest site, will serve a selection of their favorite award-winning red and white wines.

Throughout the day, back-to-back entertainment will keep the toes tapping, including:

Ben Bueltmann
Dave Boutette
Dunuya
Funktion
Jen Sygit & Tahmineh Gueramy
Los Bandits de Michigan
Mark Duval & Two Track Mind
Mississippi Gabe Carter
Singapore Valley Drifters
Who Hit John

Blankets, chairs and water coolers are welcome. The event is held in a grass field, so sturdy shoes are recommended. Guests are not allowed to bring food or alcohol into the event. All ages are welcome, but guests 21 and older will need to show ID to receive a wristband to consume alcohol. Special activities are also planned for the younger attendees.

Admission to PORKAPALOOZA is $25 per carload in advance ($40 day of) or $10 per walk / ride up, and includes access to the unlimited live entertainment. Food and beverages are sold separately. Admission tickets are available online at www.SaveGasEatPork.com, or by visiting Journeymen/Rye, New Holland Brewing, Fenn Valley Vineyard or People’s Food Co-Op of Kalamazoo.

www.SaveGasEatPork.com

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Fred Bueltmann - Beervangelist & Partner
New Holland Brewing Company
616-510-2255
Fred@newhollandbrew.com

Michelle Shaw - Journeyman Café & Rye
269-218-3748
michelleshaw@ymail.com