Contact: _Phyllis Motill, Seneca County Tourism (315) 568-8687
Glenda Neff, NY Farms! (315) 255-9267
Tim Pezzolesi, Ontario County Cooperative Extension (716)394-3977 x30
Restaurants attending the Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty Trade Show at the Waterloo Holiday Inn on March 26th have new local farm, food and wine sources.
Among those initiating farm-chef relationships were the chefs from the Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty Featured Restaurants pilot project: Chef Ronald Baldasseroni of Pasta Only's Cobblestone Restaurant in Geneva; Chef Tia Faitelson of The Pumphouse, Seneca Falls; Chef Arthur Kelly, Jr. of Veraisons at The Inn at Glenora in Dundee; Chefs Douglas Leach and Jack Carrington of Sheldrake Point Vineyard & Café, Ovid; Chef Brian Shore of Kettle Lakes Fine Dining in Tully; and Chef Deb Whiting of The Bistro at Red Newt Cellars, Hector.
Chef Shore summed up the experience by saying, "What a great day we all had! I now have a new ice cream supplier in Purity Ice Cream of Ithaca. I connected to sources for dressings, pork, apple juice, and bison, and a distributor of regional products will be stopping to see me."
Menus, which change every three weeks at The Bistro at Red Newt Cellars in Hector, will have new cheeses, maple syrup, and other locally-made products to accompany each season's fresh fruits and vegetable, says Chef Debra Whiting.
"I am looking forward to adding more local farm and food producers' names to my specials board. Our customers enjoy knowing about the local sources of the products we use for our menus. We support the Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty concept because we believe in serving the finest quality local fresh and processed products and because we want to support our community," explains Chef Tia Faitelson of The Pumphouse in Seneca Falls.
Keynote speaker Amy Cotler, executive director of Berkshire Grown, offered tips from her experience with connecting more than 63 restaurants with more than two dozen farms in western Massachusetts. She says chefs must emphasize to customers that dining in their restaurants supports local agriculture. Berkshire farms are seeing increased sales to consumers who stop by the farm to purchase the products they have enjoyed at a local restaurant. Ms. Cotler says programs like FLCB boost local pride and offer regional visitors a unique sense of place they seek on vacations. Area land trusts interested in preserving open space landscapes are working with Berkshire Grown to promote local food sources as a way to preserve farms, says Ms. Cotler. Other key partners are tourism promoters, Chambers of Commerce, commodity groups, government representatives, and community members. The conference room was packed with farm, food, tourism, Extension, and media representatives.
The FLCB pilot project chefs prepared and served the day¹s luncheon to more than 100 attendees. The menu included: Bison Guiness Stout Stew prepared with bison from Crowfield Farms in Newark by Chef Tia Faitelson; Ales Crepes with Chevre and Winter Vegetables prepared with Goat Hill Farm chevre and a wine from Wagner Brewery by Chef Debra Whiting; a Pasta Bolognese Ragu prepared with grass-fed Black Angus from Senator Nancy Larraine Hoffmann's farm by Chef Brian Shore; Grilled Ostrich Strip Streak with Glenora Blueberry Breeze Demiglace prepared with Full View Ostrich Farm ostrich by Chef Arthur Kelly, Jr.; Braised Red Cabbage in Merlot and Finger Lakes Acorn Squash Crescents prepared with vegetables from Guidone Farms and Martens Farms by Chefs Douglas Leach and Jack Carrington; a Meat & Cheese Lasagna prepared with pork from Harts Hog Farms and Heluva Good Cheese by Chef Rich Tyler; and Brownie a la Mode prepared by Eat Dessert First with Purity Ice Cream. Hillcrest Dairy supplied milk and Red Jacket Orchards supplied juice for beverages; Regional Access provided breads.
An afternoon wine and cheese tasting sponsored by the Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake, and Keuka Lake Wine Trails offered chefs and other trade show visitors a taste of many fine regional wines, as well as hard cider.
Trade show exhibits showcased the foods and services of regional farms, food producers, wineries, and tourism promoters. Visitors sampled maple cream, pesto sauces, wines, apples, cheeses, juices, BBQ sauces, ice cream, and pastries. A manufacturer of customized ceramic coasters for wine glasses, candles and soaps; and an herbal soap maker joined the interesting mix of exhibitors along with such organizations as New York Farm Bureau, NY Farms!, and the Seneca County Chamber of Commerce.
