Earlier this month, Chef Jeff Taibe led a one night kitchen takeover of the Ecco Rooftop in Bethel, located above La Zingara. The chef and his team prepared a five-course wood-fired feast in the intimate en plein air restaurant.
"We chose Ecco because I love the atmosphere. I love how casual it feels sitting on the patio. Another draw was working with the wood-fired oven," said Jeff Taibe. "Plus I wanted to bring some attention to upper Fairfield, there are a lot of hidden gems and great places to go and I feel Ecco is one of them."
About 25 people sat under the twinkling lights of the rooftop, enjoying Taibe's creations presented on vintage china from Borrowed, and paired with the evening's signature cocktail, the Paper Plane, a combination of bourbon, Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice, concocted by mixologist Jeff Marron.
Alina Lawrence of Olivette and Joel Viehland of Community Table will present an 'Extra Virgin Tasting Menu,' a night of eating, drinking and learning about authentic extra virgin olive oil, how to properly taste it, and the myriad of ways to enjoy it with food. This tasting menu will take place June 3 inside Community Table in Washington, CT.
Alina Lawrence is an olive oil educator and owner of Olivette, a boutique olive oil tasting room in Darien, CT. Alina received her training and certification in olive oil sensory analysis from the National Organization of Olive Oil Tasters (ONAOO) in Imperia, Italy.
Chef Joel will work with Alina to share her extensive knowledge of olive oil. As Alina guides you through the complexities of each oil, Chef Joel will present a matching five-course tasting menu, accompanied by wine, that will make for a memorable evening.
The Farmer’s Cow announces its 2014 Farm Tour schedule and invites visitors to come out to the country and meet the farmer’s that bring you real local Connecticut milk and dairy products.
Locally sourced food is one of the hottest trends in the 2014 culinary forecast according to a recent survey by the National Restaurant Association. But what is local? The Farmer’s Cow milk comes from the contented cows of six real local Connecticut family-owned dairy farms, not from six other states. “Real local” means our farm fresh products get to you faster and that means greater nutritional value and a smaller carbon footprint.
“If you can visit the farm, then you know it’s real local,” said Robin Chesmer, Managing Member of The Farmer’s Cow.
"We invite families to see first-hand what life is like on a working dairy farm and learn about how we are working to save Connecticut farmland and sustain farming as a way of life.”
The 2014 Farm Tour schedule includes events in every season – winter, spring, summer and fall. Each tour is unique and celebrates a different aspect of what it means to be “real local.” Visitors can meet the cows and calves, learn about dairy farming and sample The Farmer’s Cow milk, ice cream and beverages. Hosted by The Farmer’s Cow farm families, all events are free and fun for all ages.
In case of inclement weather, please check The Farmer’s Cow Event and Facebook pages for updates.
All events are free and no reservations are required.
There's a new chef in the kitchen at Sugar & Olives in Norwalk. You may recognize the name from his years cooking over at Dressing Room in Westport. It's Chef Jon Vaast, and Jennifer Balin, owner of Sugar & Olives, explains her new hire as "An Organic collaboration between two like minded people." Johnny and Balin have been strong advocates for the local and sustainable food movement, and simply put, want to create a menu with delicious food sourced from within an arms reach of the shop. Every ingredient at Sugar & Olives is seasonal, and comes from a farm near the restaurant. Balin says "whenever possible, she selects ingredients that are also Organic."
With Chef Vaast at the helm, Sugar & Olives is excited to announce that in addition to their daily weekday service, and one of the best brunches in Fairfield County,they have begun dinner service Thursday through Saturday.
Millstone Farm in Wilton has a few workshops coming up that you may not want to miss. These events range from Pig Carving 101 with Chef Tim LaBant of The Schoolhouse including lunch & cocktails to a three-hour workshop on Mushroom Cultivation. Can you think of a better way to spend your afternoon? I think not. Details are below...
Wakeman is offering not one - but TWO - CSAs to provide you with fresh-picked produce all season long.
One is from Sport Hill Farm in Easton, the other is from Stone Gardens Farm in Ridgefield. Both are for pickup at Wakeman Town Farm
Choose your day!
Organic Sport Hill Farm CSA is accepting applications through 3/31. Order now and receive weekly produce delivery every Friday at Wakeman Town Farm! To order, click here:
A Note from Organic Farmer Patti Popp, of Sport Hill Farm in Easton:
We have extended the 2014 CSA deadline until 3/31/14 for pick up at Wakeman Town Farm Sustainability Center on Friday afternoons 1-7 or at Black Rock Farmers Market Saturdays 9-1. Our CSA program runs twenty weeks. Usually begins the first week of June through mid-October. We are mainly a vegetable production farm, we grow watermelon and cantaloupes. Cooking is a must. Please e-mail me for an application if this seems like a good fit for you and your family.Farmgal596@gmail.com
Join the Yale Sustainable Food Project for A Taste of Innovation: From Farm to Table, a conversation on innovation in the agricultural value chain. Moderated by Mark Bomford of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, this panel of entrepreneurs and authors will explore some of the ways that we can redesign our current food systems and how to develop the regenerative food systems of tomorrow.
The event is free and open to the public, held at Yale School of Management at 165 Whitney Avenue, Room 220, in New Haven, CT. Watch the event live on February 25 at 11:45 am.
Speakers include: Joe Dobrow, Author of Natural Prophets: From Health Foods to Whole Foods; Patrick Horan, Waldingfield Farms; Dan Horan, President and CEO of Five Acre Farms; Moderated by Mark Bomford, Director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project.
It's that time of year again. Sign up for Ambler Farms immensely popular, Maple Syrup Tap-a-Tree program. Sign up quickly...these classes fill up fast.
Maple Syrup Tap-a-Tree program Training sessions (choose only ONE): Sat., Feb. 8th at either 10-11am or 1-2pm. Learn the science and history of maple syruping by being a hands-on part of the process. We will send regular updates on the running of the sap so you can come to the Farm to collect sap from your tree. We will boil down the sap in our sugar shack and send each family home with their very own bottle of Ambler Farm maple syrup.
The season runs from early February to mid-March (a typical season is five weeks long). If you are traveling during February or March, we will collect sap for you. Contact Kevin Meehan.
Enrollment Limited to 110 families. This program sold out quickly in previous years, so please do not wait to sign up. The number of trees at the Farm is limited, so we are unable to accommodate late requests or wait lists. $65 per non-member family/$60 per member family.
Asher is an 9th grader at Fairfield Country Day School. He has a true passion for food and started his blog, AsherZeats, in September of 2012.
“A little chocolate a day keeps the doctor at bay”
I recently had the absolute pleasure of being a part of a unique experience called Lil’ Foodies. During this special event, Brian Lewis, the chef/owner of well regarded restaurant, Elm, and his wife Dana, guided a group of children from the age of 8 to the age of 16 through a culinary extravaganza. All for the fantastic price of… nothing!
Our first stop on the journey was the New Canaan Farmers Market. During this time, Chef Lewis generously bought for us the freshest ingredients the market had to offer. We obtained fresh, crisp, juicy apples (of all varieties), a heap of straight from the ground fingerling potatoes, brightly vivid purple cauliflower, and much more.
Chef Lewis taught the group about the importance of supporting local organizations and also about picking the freshest foods from the stands.
Ridgefield's farm-to-table restaurant Bailey’s Backyard will be hosting a seven-course farm-to-table dinner on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The dinner will celebrate Connecticut ingredients and the farmers who cultivate them. The cost for the upcoming dinner is $95 per person with wine pairings and $75 per person without. Seating is limited. For reservations call 203-431-0796. For reservations call 203-431-0796.
Sunday night harkened the first of four highly anticipated “Fork it Over” fundraising dinners to benefit the Westport Farmers’ Market. Market Director, Lori Cochran, added a dash of mystery this year as guests submitted their RSVP’s (quickly I may add as the events sell out in a matter of minutes), without any knowledge of the location or the chefs participating in any of the four culinary evenings.
Alas, diners waited for weeks, running through possible guest chef scenarios in their heads, and waiting for the morning of the event when news would arrive.
The inaugural event was held at The Grange in Fairfield, and the first Chef in the Fork it Over lineup was none other than Matt Storch of Match Restaurant assisted by Jeff Spence of The Chelsea.
On the lawn guests were greeted with the smell of grilled sausages in 3 varieties from Saugatuck Craft Butchery, a peek into Chef Storch’s La Caja China smoke box filled with Norm Bloom’s oysters, clams, and lobsters, and a bar with expertly crafted Cocktails and wine pairings from Saugatuck Grain and Grape. What we had here was an old fashioned end of the summer Clam Bake. The evening was looking good. If you missed it, no worries, we've got lots of photos. VIEW PHOTO GALLERY
Usher in autumn with an elegant farm-to-table dinner featuring beautiful wines, craft brews, and delicious cuisine. On September 18 at 6pm, the Friends of Boulder Knoll will hold a multi-course meal prepared by Jason Sobocinski, host of The Cooking Channel’s “The Big Cheese.” The event will also feature wine pairings created by Southend Wine and Spirits of Cheshire, CT. They will pour “boutique” vino from the Halter Ranch line.Mikro Brew Bar will offer craft beers andPi Pies Bakery will provide a sweet ending to the evening with artisanal, freshly made baked-goods.
Guests will be entertained with music by On Call, “Connecticut’s premier musical duo.” They can also participate in a silent auction featuring items from local businesses
The event supports Friends of Boulder Knoll, a Connecticut-based organization dedicated to educating the community about sustainable agriculture and sustainable communities.
Arethusa Al Tavolo is the new gem of Litchfield County. Only a one hour's drive from Westport, past lush pastures and glistening lakes, Arethusa Al Tavolo takes you on a culinary journey. The restaurant is located right next door to the Arethusa Dairy Shop, founded by Manolo Blanik owners George Malkemus and Anthony Yurgaitis, whose taste and style manifests itself in all of their ventures: The Arethusa Bar, The Dairy Farm, and Arethusa Al Tavolo, which opened in June 2013. The dairy produces milk, house made ice cream, and Arethusa cheese to take home. The restaurant highlights fresh local ingredients, and Chef Daniel Magill, who has worked with the likes of Daniel Boulud, works his magic in a dining space that is bright and airy, but with no airs. The food is the centerpiece.
Thanks in part to a gruff farmer who answers to the moniker "Uncle Buck," three acres of organic vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers are ripening smack dab in the middle of Stamford's big town hustle and bustle.
Rows upon rows of tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, potatoes, kale, eggplant, lettuce, herbs, pumpkins and squash now prosper on land that was once part of the city's most fashionable district, an estate area known as Hubbard Heights. Over a century ago, this is where the town's doctors built their stately manses to be near the new Stamford Hospital just down the block. Even today, historic Hubbard Heights remains one of the most elegant streets in town.
But let’s go Way Back to the Future, more than two and a half centuries ago. You would be standing in the middle of Hubbard Farms, a vast bucolic acreage farmed by the Hubbard family, newly arrived in Connecticut. Their fields stretch almost to the horizon; the abundant crops leafy, tall and green, free of herbicides, fungicides or growth hormones.
Parallel Post in Trumbull is launching a dining series inspired by the season, Farm-to-Trumbull. Farm-to-Trumbull has been designed by Parallel Post to provide an intimate experience for 40 guests led by James Beard-nominated chef Dean James Max.
For $75 per person (tax and 18 percent gratuity not included), guests can warm the palate with a welcome cocktail and sampling of small bites, followed by a family-style meal ripe with the season’s finest local ingredients, wine pairings presented by our mixologist and an all-you-can-indulge dessert bar. The dinner will take place at the beautiful, Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens in Easton.
The menu for the event - much like Parallel Post’s weekly-changing restaurant menu – focuses on localism, following the philosophy that natural and sustainable products, and responsible farming, are the key components in ingredient selection.
Wondering what to do with all those extra vegetables from the garden? Don't let them go to waste. Instead, come to the Wakeman Town Farm on August 10th and learn how to can and preserve your harvest. During this 2 hour workshop, you'll learn the basics of canning as you make delicious homemade jam, tomato sauce, and salsa. There will be tastings, and participants can take home a jar of their choice! The Preserving the Harvest Canning Workshop will take place on Saturday August 10th, 10am - 12pm.
Chef Arik Bensimon of le Farm embraces the summer growing season with this simple recipe inspired by a recent trip to the local farmers' market. Thinly shaved vegetables with varying weights and texture are drizzled with a light take on a classic Caesar dressing. (You'll want to save this recipe for use year round.) Chef Bensimon has left off the quantities on the main ingredients as there are no wrong answers here, and he recommends any raw vegetable that is to your liking as the summer harvest rotates through. Enjoy this wonderful Summer Market Salad Recipe from le Farm.
Tired of always being in the "front of the house" when you really want to be back in the kitchen watching your favorite chef work? Well here is your chance to see some talented local chefs in action, and you even get fed at the end of the show. The Westport Farmers' Market has a great lineup of Guest Chefs this Summer and all you need to do is drive up with an empty stomach (and a shopping bag if you want to go home with some gorgeous local ingredients).
Bailey’s Backyard Cuisine: New American, Farm-to-table Price: Snacks & Sides $4 to $6 | Greens $10 to $17 | Mains $15 - $29 Our Highlights: Bibb Salad, Pan seared halibut with shitake mushroom arancini, micro basil and black truffle; egg papardelle with roasted lamb ragout Online: Official Website | Facebook
A thirteen year veteran of the Ridgefield dining scene, Bailey's Backyardowner Sal Bagliavio recently re-opened the beloved restaurant with a farm-to-table mission, a completely renovated space and a new and talented team in the kitchen led by Executive Chef Forrest Pasternack. Why the shift? "It was time for a change," said Sal Bagliavio. "Anyone can go out to eat, anywhere these days, I want to offer our guest a true dining experience based on organic, local ingredients."
The spring menu at the soft opening gave a promising peek at the seasonal creativity to come. Snacks and sides top the menu, offering a variety of small plates such as mable bacon pecans, local grits and roasted brussel sprouts. “Greens” and “Starts” are the showcase for local produce, such as the Connecticut Kale salad and a Bibb Salad. The latter was the highlight of my meal, a medley of textures, temperatures and flavors. Bibb lettuce, local blue cheese, bacon lardon, and parsley are the foundation for a crispy poached egg, an elegant take of a Scotch egg that is poached to perfection.
