Fermentation Festival-Meet the Makers

Not a season, month or really week goes by that I do not feel completely blessed to live near the culinary dream town of Kennett Square.  I love this vibrant little borough so much I posted a love letter to Kennett Square on my blog a couple of years ago-complete with a facebook album of my favorite Kennett moments.  The "mushroom capital of the world" is full of delicious treats thanks to places like the Country Butcher,  the Mushroom cap, La Michoacana ice cream and nationally renowned Talula's Table.  Autumn is particularly rich in food and drink celebrations; a time when busy Kennett Square hosts the Mushroom Festival, the sold-out Brew Fest, and my personal favorite the Fermentation Festival. 

Now in its fourth year the Fermentation Festival-a project of the Kennett Square Farmers Market-will take place this Friday, October 28th from 2-6PM at the Kennett Square Farmers Market (just off of State Street).  From bread to beer, coffee to wine, cheese to local spirits, kimchi to kombucha, sauerkraut and pickles--fermentation enhances our lives and palates in all kinds of delicious and healthful ways.  Come celebrate these magical and effervescent processes at the festival this Friday.

In addition to the delicious ferments, how-to's and regularly available fresh and local produce, an exciting new "course" in fermentation will also occur this Friday from 4:30 to 8PM in conjunction with the Festival.  "Meet The Makers" is a collaboration between the Kennett Square Farmers' Market, Historic Kennett Square's Brewfest and Talula's Table focusing on the delights of fermented products.  Samplings of local cheeses, brews, wines, spirits, and ciders will be offered from 4:30 to 8:00 pm in the Brick Alleyway off East State Street, alongside La Verona Restaurant.  Local cheesemakers and craft beverage artisans will talk about their creations.  Participants will also have the opportunity to socialize, relax and enjoy live music by local favorites Scott Birney and Steve Hobson of the Sin City Band. 

 

Inform your palates about all the wonderful products that are brewing up right in our very own backyard. $10 tickets for the "Meet The Makers" are available at the gate on Friday or prepuce online at http://www.kennettbrewfest.com/makers.html

 "Meet the Makers" Event Details 

Where: Brick alleyway adjacent to La Verona restaurant (directly across from the Farmers' Market, next to the "Flash")

When: Friday, September 28th, 4:30-8:00pm

What: Taste and chat with the artisans while sampling local food and drink craft: cheese, brews, wines, spirits & cider.

Featuring Tastings by:

Amazing Acres Goat Dairy

Art in The Age Spirits

Argilla Brewing Company

Birchrun Hills Farm

Doe Run Dairy

Flickerwood Wine Cellars

Frecon Farm Cider

Highland Sheep Farm

Forest and Main Brewers

Meadowset Farm & Apiary

Pike Creek Roasters

 

Quaker City Mercantile - Spodee Wine

Round Guys Brewery

Yellow Springs Goat Dairy

Al fresco flights of local cheese paired with seasonal accoutremants by Talula's Table  

 

Hope to see you Friday enjoying the magic of fermentation.

 

Happy Valentines Day--my heart belongs to Kennett Square

On this Valentine Day’s, if I had to name the entity that most often fills my heart with a warm and fuzzy feeling of contentment and love, I would have to say it is the vibrant and eclectic Kennett Square. I am not sure if it is normal to have so much love for a borough, no matter, I could not be more thankful to call this community center my “home town.” For one thing, Kennett truly is a food lovers dream. From Talula’s Table cheese happy hours to the Mushroom Festival; the Brew Fest to the Farmers Market; the Fermentation Festival to La Michoacana Mexican Ice Cream-Kennett is full of experts, enthusiasts, sources and celebrations of good food and drink. It is after all the Mushroom capital of the world.Small towns often get a bad reputation for being closed minded, hostile to change, unwelcoming to outsiders, lacking diversity and ultimately boring. Kennett Square certainly does NOT fit this stereotype. It seems barely a month can pass by without some sort of festival, parade or arts event. Kennett is quite the cultural center with its own symphony, music venue, community theater company, book stores, galleries, an eco boutique, and more. From poetry readings to a town wide murder mystery theater, Kennett hosts it all. And what’s more, it does not shy away from integrating all these elements together. Good food, music, and merriment seem the hallmark for everything in my favorite small town. It is this creative community spirit that makes Kennett truly deserving of the fifth coolest town in the United States status.2011 marks a slightly bittersweet change for Inverbrook Farm. After ten marvelous years of participating in the Kennett Square Farmers Market, I no longer will be a vendor at this Friday afternoon institution. Instead I will be opening a member based Friday Farmstand at the Farm (see website for more information). Despite this change, my participation in Kennett Square activities will not lessen. Monday night Blues Jams at the Kennett Flash, the Wednesday evening free Summer Concert Series in Anson B. Nixon Park, and First Fridays with the diverse and always entertaining merchants-the town offers a reason for a visit almost every day of the week (not to mention my addiction to a Talula’s mocha and a scone-as shown in the first picture). So I encourage to check out the Historic Kennett Square’s website and browse the extensive listing of community events for yourself. I also wanted to share this Facebook album so you can see why my heart belongs to Kennett Square.

Cheese--the perfect gift for the locavore in your life

As the cold weather continues and winter greens and storage crops start to dwindle, the perfect local food to focus on is CHEESE. I love cheese and am so thankful for the amazing community of cheese makers, sellers, and proponents who have sprung up in the last couple of years to revive a once thriving cheese culture here in Southeast PA.

One of the best resources for cheese in the county is the newly formed Chester County Cheese Artisans group. Upcoming events include a holiday open house at Yellow Springs Farm and a winter Farms Market at Birchrun Hills Farm.

Speaking of winter farmers market--the next installment of the Kennett Square Winter Market will take place Friday, December 17th with a great cheese assortment from Amazing Acres and God's Country Creamery--two of the cheeses featured in GRID's Holiday Cheese plate. The first cheese PA Noble is available through the Lancaster Farm Fresh 4 Season Buy Club that makes drop offs at Inverbrook (I actually ordered some this week) and then the Noble Road--one of my personal favorites is available at Talula's Table.

If you are willing to travel a little farther afield -- Philadelphia cheese blogger Madame Fromage will be leading a guided cheese tasting at the Reading Terminal tomorrow--click here for the link. Madame Fromage will be teaming up with GRID magazine in the future to produce a monthly feature on local cheese-- in the mean tine check out the newly created Cheese TV.

Other links featuring local cheese:

Talula's Table Blog

CC Dwell interview with 8 Local Cheese Makers

Great posting from the Apples and Cheese, please blog about eating local this time of year

A Talula's Taste of the Season to Come

I am not sure about you, but I am about to go a little stir crazy.




Although this winter weather has been dramatic and beautiful, I am more than ready for the snow to melt, the ground to thaw, and get started with spring clean up and growing. Last evening before the snow really hit, I was able to get to Kennett Square and enjoy the delicious taste of Vermont event at Talula's table. What made the evening so special, beside the all the tasty treats, was the opportunity to hang out with a community of folks passionate about food, agriculture, and community. The crowd was full of local cheesemakers, farmers, foodies, farmers market fans, and new friends from the recent pasa conference. Talula's has a brand new blog you can click here and see more pictures from this spirited event.

Those two short hours inspired an excitement for the season to come, an eagerness to connect with customers and friends again at the Kennett Square Farmers Market, and a thankfulness that a place like Talula's exists in our area. Lucky for all of us, the Mugs and Music event coming up on March 13th at the Kennett Flash will provide a similar opportunity to enjoy the camaraderie of food and community.

Kennett Square really does possesses a unique spirit that I feel so blessed to be a part of--the perfect remedy for the winter blues. The breadth of the community extends far beyond the boarders of the borough, as illustrated by the make up of the crowd last night. As I drove home I was reminded of another fantastic event that involved Talula's along with Victory Brewing Company (I will post more about Victory in the very near future)--the Sustainable Feast, a fundraiser for the Stroud Water Research Center. This amazing all local multi-course dinner took place last June, literally out in the middle of my growing fields. Just thinking about this event warms my heart. I have posted a bunch of photos below-a litte reprieve from the winter landscape-a taste of the season to come and the magic of Talula's Table. Enjoy.

Chester County Cheese Lovers Have Reason to Rejoice

The next couple of weeks includes a number of tasty, informative, and spirited events that all feature cheese. First on the cheese calendar is a taste of Vermont "happy hour" at local cheese mecca Talula's Table. The event happening on Thursday, February 25th from 4-6PM will feature special guest Zoe Brickley of the famous Cellars at Jasper Hill in Vermont. Zoe's past employment included managing the cheese caves at Murray's, NYC famous cheese shop. I have to say Murray's doesn't have anything on Talula's--click here to read one of Talula's past newsletters, all about my favorite kind of cheese--local.

Speaking of local cheese, on Saturday, March 6th the PASA is hosting an informative guided tasting "Cheeses from Chester County: Then and Now". This event with feature famous local food historian William Woys Weaver and cheese makers from Birchrun Hills, Highland Farm, and Yellow Springs. I am sure this event will sell out so make sure you register asap.

The final event I would like to highlight is one very near and dear to my heart--The Down to Earth Mugs and Music. I have been involved in planning this event for the last three years. I will provide much more details in a future posting--however I just want to alert you to fact that tickets are now available through the Kennett Flash where the event will take place (I have a feeling this event will sell out as well) and also that local food reception will feature the cheeses of Birchrun Hills, Highland Farm, and Amazing Acres. Enjoy the cheeses of (on in) Chester County! Great posting from the Kennett Market blog also on these events--more links, more info.