Great Food, Great Converstation
This past Tuesday night my wife and I attended the first of what Chef Richard Hirshen has promised to be many meals at Monks Wine Lounge highlighting locally grown food and wine.
Seated at my table included folks representing the CSU, Chico Department of Agriculture, Pedrozo Dairy, Pyramid Farms, and Associated Students. The conversation included a variety of topics as satisfying as the meal: The challenges of being a small farmer, how to link AS Dining Services with the Chico State Farm, a mini-brainstorm session about the possibilities (and some of the successes) of agro-tourism in Butte County, and a survey of our favorite vegetables (mine was pumpkin).
We all agreed that the culinary highlight was the tomato crepes featuring local grown habeneros and tomatoes and locally ground kamut flower.
For me, however, the discussion was the exciting part. I look forward to more dialog of this type on Sunday, October 14 as members of the Chico Sustainability Group, Slow Food Shasta Cascade, the Chico Food Network, the GRUB program, and the Chico Grange, and others come together for the Harvest the Flavor of Fall Dinner. Members of the public are welcomed and encouraged to attend--tickets can be purchased at Lyon's Books, Zucchini and Vine, and www.brownpapertickets.com The meal will raise money for the continued restoration of the 105-year-old Chico Grange Hall.
My hope and feeling is that the conversation at events like these will evolve into actions that support creating a sustainable, healthy food system for Chico. That's why I'm going. For that, and for the food, of course.