A Weekend of Cheese—Friday, Saturday and Sunday—7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival at Petaluma’s Sheraton Hotel, tickets for many events still available
At this weekend’s 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival, in Petaluma, buffalo mozzarella, an Old World delicacy, from Craig Ramini’s fabled Tomales farm is served fresh. At age 51, Ramini heard the call of the cheese and answered, leaving behind a successful career in Silicon Valley to pursue cheese-making in Tomales.
Fresh mozzarella. The innocence of childhood, summer evenings on a swing set flying through air scented with magnolia. New grass, slightly damp, soft against my cheek. A baby’s elbow: velvet, dimpled, full of hope. (Patricia)
There’s something about cheese that inspires people—to know more, eat more, celebrate its diversity, wax poetic, and ultimately go to its source. This weekend, that means Petaluma and the 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival, which runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Sheraton.
While Friday’s ever popular farm tours sold out months ago, tickets are still available for most other events, and everything is priced individually.
Friday offers an inaugural Meet the Cheesemakers and Their Cheeses event ($35) where you can informally chat with cheesemakers and farmers and sample over 75 cheeses, and artisan wines and beers, to your heart’s content. Saturday features a Grand Tasting and Cheese Competition ($75), from 6 to 9 p.m. This popular roaming feast pairs leading restaurant chefs and cheesemakers using artisan cheese in a variety in dishes, from sweet to savory, creating scrumptious things to eat in order to win your vote.
There are 14 seminars, cheesemaking classes, and cooking and pairing demonstrations throughout the day on Saturday. Cheesemaking classes are $95, all others $65. Select authors will sign their books. If a cheesemaking class sounds interesting, book it online NOW, as most of them have less than 4 spots available.
Friday’s farm tours include a visit to Weirauch Farm & Creamery, owned by Joel and Carleen Weirauch, (“why-rock”) who produce a variety of humane, organic, farmstead sheep cheeses and organic cow cheeses in the plush hills of Petaluma. Pictured here: Tomme Fraiche and Carabiner cow’s milk cheeses.
Sunday begins at 9:30 a.m., with the Stark Reality Brunch prepared by chef Mark Stark ($115)—start the day with a glass of bubbly and an artisan cheese inspired sit-down brunch. Attendees enjoy VIP access to the Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace and can enter one hour early before it opens to the hungry masses.
Sunday’s Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace ($45) celebrates cheese under the big top. Meet over 70 artisan producers and experience the best of local cheese, beer and other specialty foods. Attendees receive an insulated bag for carrying purchases and samples of cheese, beer, wine and other artisan foods.
Details: The 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival is March 22-24, 2013, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at Petaluma’s Sheraton, 745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma. Tickets $35 to $135. Many events are already sold-out, so purchase tickets for all events now. www.artisancheesefestival.com.
The 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival starts next Friday, March 22, and offers a full weekend of all things cheese
“Polenta with Sottocenere al Tartufo” is just one of the tasty dishes created by Garrett McCord and Stephanie Stiavetti, co-authors of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese (2013) forthcoming who will be participating in “On-line to On-plate: Bloggers Cook with Cheese” at the 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival. Sottocenere al Tartufo is an Italian is a raw cow’s milk cheese laced with bits of black truffles that translates as “under ash, with truffles.” The outside is rubbed with a mix of ash, cinnamon, fennel, licorice, nutmeg, and other aromatic spices. Photo: Garrett McCord
With “Farm to table” the mantra on the lips of most foodies, it doesn’t get much fresher than local Northern California cheeses served up fresh in Petaluma. Finely handcrafted artisan cheeses are celebrated at the 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival which kicks off this Friday, March 22, in Petaluma. There are bucolic farm tours to several small batch family farms and an inaugural “Meet the Cheesemakers” evening reception, offering a gourmet tasting warm-up for the full weekend ahead. The festival, which runs through Sunday afternoon, culminates in Sunday’s popular Tasting and Marketplace with over 70 artisan producers where participants can savor the very best of local cheeses, wines, beers and other specialty foods. While the whole weekend is geared towards tasting, one of this year’s highlights is Saturday evening’s’ “Grand Tasting,” billed as a roaming feast involving more than 50 cheesemakers, restaurants, breweries and wineries from across Northern California and beyond.
- Hands on Cheesemaking
- Farm Tours
- Wine and Cheese Pairing
- Beer and Cheese Pairing
- Cheese-Inspired Culinary Delights
- Cooking Demonstrations
- Panel Discussions
- Artisan Cheese Tasting and Marketplace
ARThound poured over the list of cheese talents speaking at the festival and food writer and culinary consultant Garrett McCord shot to the top of my list. He’d done his master’s thesis at UC Davis on the rhetoric of the slow food movement. About to publish his first cookbook, Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese (2013) (co-authored with Stephanie Stiavetti), and helmsman of the popular food blog Vanilla Garlic, which looks at food and life intertwine, McCord, now 28, seemed like a great interview. Stay tuned to ARThound for our chat about the language of cheese.
Details: The 7th Annual Artisan Cheese Festival is March 22-24, 2013, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., at Petaluma’s Sheraton, 745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma. Tickets $35 to $135. Many events are already sold-out, so purchase tickets for all events now. www.artisancheesefestival.com.
Dish: Opening Weekend Parties Await the Well-Heeled Patrons of the Green Music Center, starting with lots of cork popping at Prelude, the GMC’s new restaurant
I normally don’t get too social but, seriously, who isn’t curious about the goodies and special parties awaiting select patrons of the beautiful Green Music Center this weekend? Here’s the low-down on Saturday night’s pre Lang Lang soiree for 600 and the exclusive post-performance feast. The events are co-chaired by Marne Olson and Joan Weill. Marne Olson is very active in the Santa Rosa Symphony and is the wife of Sonoma State University President Ruben Armiñana. Joan Weill is the patron saint of the Joan and Sanford I Weill Hall, who, along with her husband Sandy, donated the $12 million necessary to nearly complete the GMC’s state of the art concert hall.
BEFORE: While many of us will be scrambling for parking outside the center, 600 generous patrons have been invited to an opening night pre-concert champagne reception in Prelude, the GMC’s elegant restaurant and bar, which will be open to the general public on October 6, 2012. In a community partnership, the talented young people of Santa Rosa Junior College, which has an exceptional culinary arts and catering program, will provide hors d’oeuvres for the festive pre-concert champagne reception.
AFTER: Award-winning Napa celeb chef Michael Chiarello (chef at Yountville’s Bottega, vintner, TV host, sustainable farmer, James Beard Award Finalist in 2012 and he overhauled Delta Airlines the first-class menu) has designed a magnificent menu for the post concert fundraising dinner—price of entry $10,000 to $30,000 per table. The menu includes local delectables such as heirloom tomatoes, rack of lamb, and a special Chocolate Budino for dessert. Chef Chiarello is supported by the renowned wine-country based Elaine Bell Catering. And even though SSU’s nick-name from way back when is “Granola U,” and there are boundless fabulous gourmet versions of granola to be found, it’s just NOT on the menu. Event and floral designer Thierry Chantrel of La Follia, San Francisco, known for his FABULOUS wedding bouquets, has planned an enchanting décor for the dinner tent, complete with more than 60 individually designed “still life tablescapes” unique to each table, beautiful linens from La Tavola, and local and seasonal flowers.
A rare, 2007 “Year of the Dragon” Chinese Cuvée (75 percent Pinot Noir, 25 percent Chardonnay) has been contributed by the Sterling Family of Iron Horse Vineyards for a champagne toast as guests arrive. Additional wines contributed for the dinner include a 2011 Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc from Casablanca Valley, Chile, provided by Agustin and Valeria Huneeus; a 2010 Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, provided by Anne Moses and James Hall; and a 2009 Bedrock Wine Co., Lachryma Montis Late-Harvest Semillon from Monte Rosso Vineyard, provided by Morgan Twain-Peterson.
The Grand Opening Weekend itself sponsored by Bank of America. Additional sponsors include the Koret Foundation, Alexsis de Raadt St. James, the Sterling Family of Iron Horse Vineyards, On Campus Presents, Rudolph and Sletten, Bedrock Wine Co., Patz & Hall, Kosta Brown, Sonoma State Enterprises, and Santa Rosa Junior College.
Love vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes? Kendall-Jackson’s Heirloom Tomato Festival is September 14-15, 2012
The 16th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival features over 150 varieties of delicious vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes in all colors, shapes and sizes—all grown at Kendall-Jackson. Saturday, September 15, 2012. Photo: Geneva Anderson
It’s tomato time ! The 16th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival, a special gourmet celebration of the bounty of Sonoma County featuring heirloom tomatoes, is September 14 and 15, 2012—just two weeks away. This year, the popular festival has gone from 1 to 2 days and features a new “Chef Tables in the Vineyard” component on Friday evening with celebrity chefs Guy Fieri and Mario Batali hosting a unique “al fresco” dinner experience at Kendall-Jackson’s acclaimed wine center. The traditional tomato festival is Saturday, September 15, 2012, from 11 to 4 p.m. and it always sells out in advance, drawing crowds from all over California. If you want tickets, buy them right now, as they are capped at 3,000 and no tickets are sold at the event itself.
Those lucky enough to have snared tickets to the festival will have 5 hours to feast to their heart’s content on a multitude of tomato-inspired gourmet dishes prepared on the spot by leading chefs and by dozens of local fine food purveyors and Bay Area top restaurants. All of them will use freshly-picked heirloom tomatoes supplied by Kendall-Jackson and, in many cases, K-J olive oil and fine wines too. The event also includes the chance to sample and compare more than 150 varieties of heirloom tomatoes (grown in the Kendall-Jackson
Kendall-Jackson’s Heirloom Tomato Festival has a new Friday evening gourmet dining event.
culinary gardens); a chef competition featuring Bravo’s Top Chef® contenders Kevin Gillespie and Eli Kirshtein and among others; and an array of food, wine and gardening seminars. There will also be garden tours, wine-tasting and live music. And new this year, #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber is the festival’s first-ever celebrity critic who will sample and judge the festival’s various dishes on Saturday and award a “Critic’s Choice Award” to her favorite restaurant or food purveyor that afternoon. Tomato Heaven! The emphasis is, of course, heirloom tomatoes. Genetically unchanged from one generation to another−heirlooms offer the intense flavor prized by gardeners and gourmets. There’s no better place to grow these jewels than right here in Sonoma County where our climate, soil and tomato fervor combine to produce a wide selection of these lovely delicious orbs. Always central to the event is the famous “tomato tasting tent”−a large tent with long tables holding dozens of plates of delicately vine-ripened sliced heirloom tomatoes organized by color/type−all of them are grown in the Kendall-Jackson’s extensive gardens. This year, the weather has cooperated and we are enjoying a particularly flush Indian summer output of tomatoes. The tasting tent will have over 150 varieties to sample, including some Sonoma County favorites such as Brandywine, Green Zebra, Stupice, Mortgage Lifter, San Marzano, and Cherokee Purple and, along with these, many unfamiliar varieties. There will be a tomato growing contest, too, for gardeners to show off their prize heirlooms and have them judged by looks, flavor and texture. Larry Wagner and his Pink Berkeley Tie Dye tomato took home last year’s Best Of Show award and he’ll be back again this year hoping to win again.
The festival is all about heirloom tomatoes and attendees have 5 hours to eat to their heart’s content. Over 150 varieties of freshly-picked heirloom tomatoes from Kendall-Jackson’s extensive gardens can be sampled at the tomato tent, the festival’s go-to spot for tomato aficionados. Photo: Geneva Anderson
New this Year: Friday night celebrity chef dinner, hosted by Mario Batali and Guy Fieri:
The festival will kick off on Friday evening at 6 p.m. with Chef Tables in the Vineyard, an exclusive celebrity chef dinner, hosted by Mario Batali and Guy Fieri to support Santa Rosa-based CWK Foundation (Cooking with Kids Foundation), a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit founded by Guy Fieri in 2010 with the goal of inspiring one million young people to get in the kitchen and cook. The dinner will feature 22 of the Bay Area and wine country’s most acclaimed chefs, including: Douglas Keane, John Ash, Domenica Catelli and Kendall-Jackson Executive Chef Justin Wangler. (full list chefs here) All of the menus will showcase local ingredients and wine pairings from Kendall-Jackson, and will be enjoyed “al fresco” in the lovely estate vineyard with each chef hosting a table that will feature a unique dinner menu designed and prepared by that chef.
A limited number of VIP tickets are available with assigned seating at the head table, hosted by Guy Fieri and Mario Batali. With a menu designed and prepared by these two renowned celebrity chefs, and net proceeds also benefiting Cooking with Kids, this promises to be one of your most memorable dining experiences. Even if you’re not at the head tables, an evening spent in the company of any one of the talented guest chefs will leave you exhilarated and there’s always a fabulous take-away in terms of cutting edge techniques, food lore and gourmet gossip. Buy tickets here.
General Seating Chef Tables in the Vineyard: $350 per person (includes entry to Saturday’s Tomato Festival.)
VIP Seating Chef Tables in the Vineyard: $3,000 per person (includes entry to Saturday’s Tomato Festival.)
More About Debbie Macomber, inaugural judge for Saturday’s “Critic’s Choice Award:
Debbie Macomber is one of today’s most popular authors. Seven of her novels have hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, with three debuting at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly lists. Best known for her heartwarming tales about small-town life, home and family, enduring friendships and women who knit, Macomber also has cookbooks (Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove Cookbook), books for children, and inspirational non-fiction to her publishing credit. Macomber has also channeled her creativity into top-rated Hallmark Channel movies and A Good Yarn Shop, her own yarn store and tea room in Port Orchard, Washington. Her latest book, The Inn at Rose Harbor (Random House, August 2012)takes readers back to the fictional Pacific Northwest setting of her much-loved Cedar Cove series where a charming cast of characters finds love, forgiveness and renewal behind the doors of the cozy Rose Harbor Inn. Hallmark Channel is currently filming a Cedar Cove series pilot tentatively scheduled to air in 2013.
KJ Executive Chef Justin Wangler’s “go-to” heirloom for eating is Cherokee Purple, a delicious sweet fruit over 100 years old that has captured the hearts of many, especially food-writers who have embellished its history with all sorts of lore. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Heirloom Tomato Festival Details: Saturday, September 15, 2012 • 11am – 4pm, Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton, California 95439, information: 707.571.7500TICKETS—Tickets are pre-sold only (3,000 are available) and are $85 for the general public and $50 for Wine Club members and are available online at www.kj.com, or at the Kendall Wine Center itself, or the Healdsburg Tasting Room. The festival sells out every year, so buy your tickets now if you want to attend.
Directions: From Highway 101 going NORTH, take River Road exit. Come to stop light and turn LEFT going over the freeway. Travel approximately 1 1/4 mile to first stoplight, which is Fulton Road. Turn RIGHT at Fulton Road.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center is less than 1/2 mile on the LEFT side of the road. (If you go over the Hwy 101 overpass on Fulton, you’ve gone too far.)
From Highway 101 going SOUTH, take Fulton Road exit. The FIRST driveway on the right is the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center.
The festival is an outdoor event, and it’s usually hot, so bring appropriate hats for sun protection and country walking shoes.
ARThound is back from London
Dining on the Move: ARThound experiences the golden age of travel on the luxurious British Pullman, sister train to the legendary Venice Simplon Orient-Express. As the vintage train departs London’s Victoria’s rail station for a journey into Britain’s countryside, passengers are served chilled champagne and sumptuous cuisine. What hat to wear? One co-created with uber-trendy London milliner, Katherine Elizabeth, who designed the hat for the new Kate Middleton doll.
The Summer Olympics in London ended last Sunday and ARThound is back–with dozens of stories to tell. Not only did I attend the games, but I also participated in the London 2012 Festival, part of Britain’s larger Cultural Olympiad, which continues through September 9, 2012, the final day of the Paralympic Games. The London 2012 Festival is actually a countrywide event that features an estimated 12,000 performances including art exhibitions, theatrical performances and classical concerts. What a marvelous time to visit England–when everyone was celebrating and freebies were falling from the skies! Stay tuned to ARThound for interviews with London insiders, celebs, curators, foodies, including Ernst Vegelin, Head of The Courtauld Gallery and Lady Fiona Carnarvon, the down-to-earth duchess who actually lives at Downton Abbey (Highclere Castle).
Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender is this Saturday, June 30, 2012
Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender is this Saturday, June 30, 2012. The winery’s Lavender Garden features some 5,000 plants. The cultivars “Grosso” and “Provence” line the entrance to the winery and are the basis of its Estate Grown Lavender product line. Photo: courtesy Matanzas Creek Winery.
”lavender, sweet lavender;
come and buy my lavender,
hide it in your trousseau, lady fair.
Let its flovely fragrance flow
Over your from head to toe,
lightening on your eyes, your cheek, your hair.”
Cumberkand Clark Flower Song Book 1929
Ask any California gardener and you’ll find that lavender is an herb that is easy to fall in love with—it grows like a dream, has a calming fragrance, and its deep purple hues are treasured by almost everyone. And luscious culinary lavender has endured long past its trending phase to become a gourmet staple. This Saturday, at Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual Days of Wine and Lavender, you can put your problems aside and escape to a lush lavender oasis in Bennett Valley’s rolling hills. The winery’s breathtaking lavender garden will be in full fragrant bloom and the day is geared towards tasting exquisite wines and sampling all things lavender—from artisan breads dusted with lavender flour to lavender lemonade to Matanzas’ rejuvenating Estate Lavender line. This popular event always sells out early and draws a crowd of 400 from all over California for a leisurely and relaxing summer afternoon. Designed in 1991 by landscaper extraordinaire Robert Kourik, with 5,000 impeccably cultivated plants; this is the largest planting of lavender in northern, CA. It’s surrounded by a border of exotic trees, shrubs and tall grasses and the overall impact is reminiscent of the enclosed secret gardens of classical Europe. If you’ve never been up to Matanzas Creek, the event this Saturday is just about the best introduction you could have to the sprawling estate and its rich offerings.
There will be ample opportunity to taste the wines of Matanzas Creek, featuring Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot, and the unique Dénouement ® (day-nu-ma), a fabulous dessert wine made from Sauvignon Blanc that experiences botrytis, or ‘noble rot,’ which is prized in France for its ability to produce stylishly luscious fruit characteristics. Velvety and sophisticated on the palate, this wine is led by aromas of baked peach and honeysuckle which transition elegantly into flavors of baked apricot with hints of brioche and hazelnut. Delicacies featuring edible lavender and that pair well with the wines will be prepared by Matanzas Creek’s estate chefs Justin Wangler and Eric Frischkorn and their culinary team. Last year, Chef Eric Frischkorn prepared out-of-this-world homemade artisan breads featuring lavender. Some of these breads were created from a unique wild yeast starter dough from yeast Frischkorn collected on the vineyard’s grapes. This year, be sure to try his special foccacia with Chardonnay Grapeseed Oil and lavender and his Kalamata Olive Sourdough with herbs de Provence which is made from Frischkorn’s grape sourdough starter.
Chef Eric Frischkorn will be baking and serving his fabulous artisan breads this Saturday at Matanzas Creek Winery’s 16th Annual “Days of Wine and Lavender.” Photo: Geneva Anderson.
This year’s menu:
Assorted Local Artisan Cheeses & Charcuterie
Paired with Sauvignon Blanc: Drakes Bay Oyster Shooter with Cucumber Consomme
Paired with Chardonnay: Lavender Honey Glazed Scallops, Sardinian Couscous Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Paired with Merlot: Lavender Roasted Leg of Lamb with Confit Fingerling Potatoes, Green Beans & Salsa Verde
Paired with Sauvignon Blanc: Lemon Grass Chicken Lettuce Cups with Toasted Almonds & Pickled Vegetables
White Chocolate Lavender Mousse with Caramelized White Chocolate Cremeux, Lime Streusel & Vanilla Bean Meringue
Justin Wangler assured me that there is a “subtle difference” between various culinary cultivars that fine palates can distinguish. “Lavandula x Intermedia,” commonly named “Grosso,” is a strong and vigorous hybrid, grown on the Matanzas grounds that was developed in France in the early 18oo’s for its heightened oil content. It yields a robust purple violet bloom and produces one of the highest quality culinary grade lavenders to be found and is favored by the culinary team.
This Year’s Highlights Include:
- Learn first hand from winemaker Marcia Monahan, what sets Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc apart from the rest. Featuring a sensory experience by tasting fruits, herbs and spices to discover exotic tasting notes.
- Visit the Journey Tasting Room for an elevated experience and taste amazing wines.
- Indulge in a chair or hand massage while surrounded by our gorgeous estate.
- See a live demonstration how a dish is prepared and why it pairs beautifully with Matanzas Creek wines.
- Take an immerging walk through lavender gardens in high bloom.
- Groove to live music and just have a great time exploring our estate gardens, grounds and vineyards.
- The Lavender Barn will be open with Estate Lavender culinary items, lotions, soaps, massage oils and much more available for purchase. And this is not your ordinary lavender spa line–of course, there’s a pure lavender scent from the finest essential oil. Several lavender products have also been blended with ingredients like tangerine, neroli and rose to create modern invigorating scents. There’s also a men’s line that features a handmade soap with a spicy earthy lavender-infused scent that’s worth stocking up on.
- Tantalize your taste buds by indulging in unique desserts, local cheeses served by local vendors. Try Marshall’s Farm estate lavender-infused honey which utilizes Matanzas Creek’s estate lavender.
Details: Saturday June 30th, 2012, noon to 4 p.m. Tickets: $85 General Public and $70 Wine Club members. Matanzas Creek Winery is located at 6097 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Phone: 800 590-6464
The winery is known for its crisp sauvignon blancs, luxurious chardonnays and fruity, earthy merlots. To learn more, visit www.matanzascreek.com.
Carb-loading for a cause—the 15th Annual Petaluma Chili Cook-off, Salsa and Beer Tasting is this Saturday, May 12, 2012, and it benefits Cinnabar Theatre’s Youth Programs
Save Saturday, May 13, 2012, for the 15th Annual Petaluma Chili Cook-off, Salsa and Beer Tasting at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Petaluma
Most of us don’t need an excuse to eat but this Saturday offers a great reason to indulge—it’s the 15th Annual Petaluma Chili Cook-off, Salsa and Beer Tasting, an all-you-can-eat extravaganza— and all the proceeds fund Cinnabar Theatre’s wonderful youth programming. The event runs from 1 to 5 p.m. at Herzog Hall at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma. This year, 55 teams of chili and salsa challengers and 14 Bay Area breweries are participating and there will be chili and salsa galore to sample and judge, and plenty of beer, including special microbrews, to quench your thirst. The goal—to determine the best-of-the-best when it comes to meat chili, veggie chili, traditional salsa, fruit salsa. Defending their 2011 title for best meat chili by individual will be Tree Huggin’ Hippies; best meat chili by restaurant/ Whole Foods; best vegetarian chili/ Tree Huggin’ Hippies; best traditional salsa/ Tree Huggin’ Hippies and best fruit salsa/Sonoma Salsa. There’s also a People’s Choice award given in each of the categories. Come early, eat plentifully, and see if you can spot the taste of victory.
The cook-off’s founder and organizer, Laura Sunday, deemed “Empress”—who also runs Taste of Petaluma every September—has fond memories of last year’s contest and high hopes for this one. “Last year we had 15 young guys from Chicago who attended our Chili Cook-off for a Bachelor Party. They drove up from SFO in a limousine and partied all day long with us. I asked them how they heard about us. They said they wanted to go to a chili cook-off to celebrate and when they researched it, ours kept coming up as the best in the West, so they planned their entire trip around our event.”
Last year, the event was attended by 1,300 people and raised $50,000 for Cinnabar Theater’s youth programs which include a variety of classes in the performing arts for children of ages 4 through 18; Cinnabar’s Young Repertory Company, which produces 4 fully staged shows annually; and Cinnabar’s very popular Summer Camps, which provide an immersive 4 week training leading up to a staged performance or musical revue. This year, there are three camps offered that will perform Musical Madness (Broadway hits revue), Rock ‘n’ Music Roll (rock opera) and Les Miserable.
“We’re heading into our 40th season for our Young Rep program and are proud to say that no child is turned away for lack of funds,” said Elly Lichenstein, Cinnabar’s Artistic Director. “We have between 450 and 500 students coming from all over the North Bay every year and we offer a range of scholarships and the Chili tasting is our biggest fund raiser of the year—it’s vital to our survival.” Lichenstein is proud that her program has launched several careers in the arts. One Cinnabar alumnus is in Hollywood making movies and several students, now sprinkled across the country, are pursuing acting careers.
“What I love about the chili cook-off is that it’s such a celebration,” said Lichenstein. “Everyone’s having a great time, packed in this hall like sardines and eating away, and it brings out a whole different demographic than we see during our regular performance season—these are people who love chili and they don’t necessarily love theatre and it’s fabulous.”
How does the competition work? Some chili contests adhere to purist rules about what chili is and isn’t and what it can and can’t be. Some contests, for example, don’t allow beans in chili. In Petaluma, things are flexible and Sunday doesn’t give entrants any rules about chili or salsa. “I love beans! If you want to put beans in your chili, I will not say no.”
Because there are only 55 contestants, and entry is handled on a first-come, first-served basis, anybody with a hot recipe and the requisite $65 to $75 entry fee who entered before the March 15, 2012 deadline, made the cut. Most of last year’s winners are back to defend their titles, including the mystifying Tree Huggin’ Hippies who won the meat chili, vegetarian chili and vegetarian chili by individuals divisions.
Each contestant has been asked to prepare a whopping 9 gallons of the recipe entered, enough for the panel of judges and community tasting. Chili judging will be by a blind taste test and all chili and salsa will be served to the judges in 2 oz. plastic cups. The judges will have no contact with the chili or salsa challengers. Judging is on the basis of taste and personal preference of the V.I.P. judging panel—a team of 13 foodies and community members selected by Dick Kapash, the retired founder of Petaluma’s SOLA Optical. “I can’t get enough of those fine chili dishes…the chili, salsa and beer just keep getting better every year,” said Kapash, who has worked with Laura Sunday for about 9 years planning the event. Each judge tastes either chili or salsa and votes. This year’s judges are Dick Kapash, David Glass, Ryan Williams, Yovanna Bierberich, Steve Jaxon, Jason Jenkins, Mike Harris, Geraldine Duncann, Mary McCusker, Jason Davies, Geneva Anderson, Joe Davis, Nick Grizzle.
When asked to judge again, I agreed immediately. I love the competitive edge it brings out, the fun of people watching and the joy of eating. I opted for salsa—refreshing, tart and spicy—I make it frequently and am always up for a new twist. And, frankly, I am interested in seeing how others adjust their recipes to get that fresh flavor burst in non-tomato season. When you’ve got juicy sun-ripened heirloom tomatoes at your fingertips, everything is already easier.
Awards: There will be 4 “People’s Choice” trophies given for Meat Chili, Veggie Chili, Salsa and Beer. A panel of distinguished judges from the community will award “Judges’ Choice” trophies for Best Restaurant, Business, Service Organization, Individual, Salsa, and Vegetarian Chili, and an overall “Grand Champion Chili.” Other awards will be given for best team costumes, best booth decorations, most spirited team, best salsa and chili display, and any other wacky contest that the organizers can come up. Runners up will also be awarded.
Live Entertainment: Although the main event on Saturday will be the chili and salsa contest, in Behren’s Park, just next to Herzog Hall, there will be music by Soup Sandwich, an 8 piece local Ska band (1 PM to 1:45 PM), and Sonoma County favorites Stony Point, performing a crowd-pleasing mix of rock and blues plus some original tunes for dancing and listening pleasure (3 PM to 4:30 PM). Local dance companies Raks Rosa Dance Company (belly dance, middle eastern)(1:45 to 2 PM) and FIERCE Dance Company (hip-hop) (2:45 PM to 3 PM) and are also on the docket. The Amazing Caine will perform dazzling magic tricks and Fred Speer of Clark’s Pest Control will offer a Bug Zoo and promises a collection of very interesting insects. (full entertainment schedule)
If you sign on for the beer tasting component of the event—an additional $15–you’ll have your fill of the offerings of 15 local micro-breweries producing the finest premium ales around.
More About Cinnabar Theater:
Cinnabar Theatre winds up its 39th season with Garson Kanin’s Born Yesterday, playing May 25-June 10, 2012. This 1946 hilarious tale features a not-so-dumb-blonde, her less-than-honest brute of a boyfriend, and the no-nonsense reporter who helps her uncover Washington’s dirty little secrets and life’s glorious possibilities. Get your tickets here or call 707.763.8920.
Sing We & Chant It, Cinnabar Chamber Singers, Spring Concert, with Michael Shahani, Directing. Cinnabar Chamber Singers is a thing of rare beauty: breathtaking music arranged for several parts, sung by people who find fulfillment and fellowship, offered up to the public in concert. They teach us something about music, art and life, as the notes wrap themselves gently around our hearts. The Spring Concert features Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cantata #131, Mark Kratz soloist (Don Ottavio in this Spring’s Don Giovanni), as well as a set of beloved madrigals and exciting new works. (May 27, 2 PM, Petaluma’s United Church of Christ, 825 Middlefield Drive, Petaluma) Get your tickets here or call 707.763.8920.
Details: 15th Annual Petaluma Chili Cook-off, Salsa and Beer Tasting is Saturday, May 12, 2012, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, Herzog Hall, Petaluma (located at East Washington and Payran Streets in Petaluma) Chili, salsa and beer tasting $40, Chili and salsa Tasting $25, Kids under 12 $10, under 5 free. ID necessary for beer. Tickets can be purchased in advance online, or the day of the event.
Justin Wangler, K-J’s top chef, talks tomatoes on the eve of the 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival
Justin Wangler, Kendall's-Jackson's executive chef, will be heading the K-J culinary team at the 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival on Saturday, September 10, 2011. Wangler has "at least" 12 festivals under his belt and helped choose the chefs for the popular Chefs Challenge competition. He is responsible for the fabulous food and wine pairings at Kendall-Jackson. His go-to heirloom is Cherokee Purple, which he also grows at his Santa Rosa home. Photo: courtesy Kendall-Jackson
Tomorrow, Kendall-Jackson celebrates all things tomato with their 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival, a 5-hour gourmet and sensory extravaganza with samples galore. Kendall-Jackson’s executive chef Justin Wangler will head a culinary team of twenty chefs and a large group of volunteers in preparing for the biggest annual event at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center. Before joining the Kendall-Jackson Culinary Team in 2003, Justin worked at Syrah in Santa Rosa, at Saddleback Cellars and at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. He attended culinary school in his home state of North Carolina.
I spoke with Justin on Thursday, just before the Chef’s Challenge contenders were slated to arrive at the center to begin preparations for Saturday. This year’s three visiting contenders—Jen Carroll (10 Arts Bistro & Lounge by Eric in Philadelphia), Chris Jacobsen (“CJ”) (The Yard in Santa Monica) and Kevin Gillespie (Woodfire Grill in Atlanta) —have all competed on Bravo’s hit TV show “Top Chef.” Justin was responsible for choosing all of them as well as for inviting the five local chefs—Douglas Keane (executive chef and owner of the two-Michelin-Star Cyrus in Healdsburg, serving from Shimo Modern Steak in Healdsburg), Paul Monti (Monti’s in Santa Rosa), Josh Silver (Petite Syrah and Jackson’s Bar and Oven in Santa Rosa), Jeff Mall (executive chef at Zin in Healdsburg, and John Ash in Santa Rosa).
First on their activities list was a trip up to Healdsburg to visit K-J’s 5-acre tomato garden, on which over 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes are grown. The evening would be spent dining at some of Northern California’s finest restaurants including Syrah, in Santa Rosa, where Justin had previously cooked before K-J lured him away. On Friday, each of the guest chefs would be paired up with a sous-chef from Kendall-Jackson’s staff and together they would strategize for the Chef’s Challenge competition. The challenge, which is enormously popular, entails cooking three tomato-based dishes in 25 minutes, also incorporating the contents of a “mystery basket” of local meats and fish. Here’s what Justin had to say on the eve of the big event:
In your opinion, what are the best techniques to capture robust heirloom tomato flavor in cooking?
Justin Wangler: We use lots of different techniques for lots of different tomatoes and I think there are great flavors to be had from all techniques. This year we’ve had a lot of green tomatoes because they haven’t gotten ripe yet, so we’ve been making fried green tomatoes all summer. Also for this event we do some oven-roasted ones where we just toss the tomatoes, kind of like a plum tomato, we slice it in half lengthwise and we toss it with garlic, olive oil, thyme, and rosemary and just put it the oven cut side up and turn the oven on to about 95 degrees and we just leave it overnight and then we come in the next morning and they’re oven-dried tomatoes, which intensifies the sugars. It’s a good technique if you don’t have the best tomatoes.
But my personal favorite way is just raw tomatoes with really nice salt. I like Malden sea salt flakes from Essex: it’s very flaky and looks like snowflakes and has a really crunchy texture. I would imagine any high-end food purveyor would have it.
What are your favorite tomatoes just for eating with some good salt?
Justin Wangler: I’m a big fan of the Cherokee Purple. It’s so sweet and the color is so beautiful. Usually at my house I try to be growing about five different tomato varieties at any given time. I try to do one or two little cherry tomatoes, red or yellow, just for salads or snacking. I try and mix it up. We have so many seeds here, I try and change it up each year. But I always like Yellow Sun Gold, and then we have one called Orange Currant which is super-sweet. Usually I try and do a couple of big tomatoes like the Cherokee Purple, which is good for BLTs. And then every year I try one I’ve never heard of, just for fun. One of my favorites is the Big White Pink Stripe, a yellow tomato that almost looks like it’s tie-dyed inside with pink colors. That’s a fun one. We have 400 seeds on hand, so we try to do new stuff each year.
Which heirloom tomatoes do you prefer for sauces?
Justin Wangler: Definitely the plum and Italian tomato varieties. But what we do is as soon as we start slicing tomatoes we put a nice big container in the fridge and we save all the scraps and we just pile them in there. Then usually about once a week we just toss it with garlic and some herbs and we roast it in the oven and caramelize it and then we puree that in a blender, strain it, put it in a pot and cook it down, and then we can it at the end of each season. So we don’t waste anything. All the tops and bottoms of our tomatoes we save, skin and everything. We just remove the stems with what we call a tomato shark, like a melon baller, because the stems can make it a little bitter.
Justin Wangler's "go-to" heirloom for eating is Cherokee Purple, a delicious sweet fruit over 100 years old that has captured the hearts of many, especially food-writers who have embellished its history with all sorts of lore. Photo: Geneva Anderson
What are the most unusual or creative uses of heirloom tomatoes you’ve encountered—both successes and failures?
Justin Wangler: Every year for our Chefs Competition I try to make a dessert. One of my favorites was a cherry tomato clafouti–like a pancake batter with cherry tomatoes that’s baked. I served it with a little whipped cream. Actually it’s almost sweeter than with cherries, which are sweet and tart, but tomatoes are just sweet. Also, one year Carrie Brown from Jimtown Store in Alexander Valley made a sweet tomato shortcake. She made these little biscuits and put whipped cream on them and just marinated some really sweet tomatoes with a little bit of sugar and mint and it was really good. And then the John Ash restaurant a couple of years ago did a tomato cheesecake and I think they won that year. Then one year somebody peeled tomatoes, then blanched them, and then took little petals out and dipped them in chocolate, like tomato roses dipped in chocolate. So there’s always fun and really exciting stuff. Every year brings some new items and new things we haven’t seen before so we always look forward to the Tomato Festival to see what people are doing.
A highlight of every K-J Tomato Festival is the pairing of locally grown vine-ripened tomatoes with Kendall-Jackson wines. What do you have planned for this year?
Justin Wangler: We try to create dishes to match the flavors in the wine. This year some of my favorites are Sauvignon Blanc with our fried green tomatoes and then we have a beautiful pasta that we’re pairing with our new Avant Chardonnay.
This year’s dishes prepared by our Culinary team:
Smoked Fennel & Paul Robeson Tomato Soup
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir
Fried Green Tomatoes with Delice de la Vallee
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Sauvignon Blanc
Farfalle with Marinated Yellow Marble Tomatoes & Point Reyes Mozzarella
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Avant Chardonnay
Fresh Baguette with Indian Moon Yellow Tomatoes, Bacon & Beehive Cheese
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay
Herb Roasted Boxcar Willie Tomatoes with Point Reyes Blue Cheese Bruschetta
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Syrah
Smoked Kobe Beef on Fresh Baguette with Bearnaise Aioli & Black From Tula Tomato
Paired with Kendall-Jackson Cabernet Sauvignon
What’s the best way to care for heirloom tomatoes once you buy or pick them?
Justin Wangler: At my house usually I set them with core side down in a cool dark place. You can put them in a paper bag but you don’t want them touching too close together, you want a little air to circulate so they don’t get moldy.
We’re often told it’s not good to refrigerate them. Is that true, and if so, why?
Justin Wangler: It changes the texture a little bit. If you’re taking the time to grow or buy really good tomatoes, you might as well just leave them out and eat them as soon as possible.
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
Justin Wangler: The Heirloom Tomato Festival is one of those events where you get to see all your friends from around the county and also meet new chefs from all around the country. I like the interaction with all the guests, and to see how much people enjoy themselves drinking great wine and eating lots of tomatoes.
Any cool tomato tips?
Justin Wangler: We’ve got a slicing technique that you’re going to love.
Details: Saturday, September 10, 2011 • 11am – 4pm, Kendall-Jackson Wine Center
5007 Fulton Road, Fulton, California 95439, information: 707.571.7500
TICKETS– This year’s festival is completely sold out, but make sure to check Kendall-Jackson’s webpage in May 2012 for information and tickets for the 16th Annual Festival in September 2012. Tickets, $65, are pre-sold only (3,000 are available) and will be available online at www.kj.com, or at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center itself or the Healdsburg Tasting Room.
Directions: From Highway 101 going NORTH, take River Road exit. Come to stop light and turn LEFT going over the freeway. Travel approximately 1 1/4 mile to first stoplight, which is Fulton Road. Turn RIGHT at Fulton Road.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center is less than 1/2 mile on the LEFT side of the road. (If you go over the Hwy 101 overpass on Fulton, you’ve gone too far.)
From Highway 101 going SOUTH, take Fulton Road exit. The FIRST driveway on the right is the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center.
Update: Next Saturday’s 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival is Sold Out
The 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson heirloom Tomato Festival features over 150 varieties of delicious vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes in all colors, shapes and sizes. This Saturday, September 10, 2011.
It’s tomato time! Next Saturday, September 10, is the 15th Annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival, now sold out. The popular event, which draws crowds from all over California, is a celebration of all the wonderful tastes of Sonoma County, with heirloom tomatoes as the focal point. Those lucky enough to have snared tickets will have 5 hours to feast to their heart’s content on a multitude of tomato-inspired gourmet dishes prepared on the spot by leading chefs and by dozens of local fine food purveyors and Bay Area top restaurants. All of them will use freshly-picked heirloom tomatoes supplied by Kendall-Jackson and, in many cases, K-J olive oil and wine too. And then there are the tomatoes themselves−genetically unchanged from one generation to another−heirlooms offer the intense flavor prized by gardeners and gourmets. Central to the event is the “tasting tent”−a large tent with long tables holding dozens of plates of delicately vine-ripened sliced heirloom tomatoes organized by color/type−all of them are grown in the Kendall-Jackson’s extensive gardens. This year, there will be over 150 varieties to sample including some Sonoma County favorites such as Brandywine, Green Zebra, Stupice, Mortgage Lifter, San Marzano, and Cherokee Purple and, along with these, many unfamiliar varieties. There will be a tomato growing contest, too, for gardeners to show off their prize heirlooms and have them judged by looks, flavor and texture. Mia Brown, from Lodi, cleaned up last year hauling off 6 of 18 awards given. Her “Green Doctor” won the
The festival is all about heirloom tomatoes and attendees have 5 hours to eat to their heart's content. Over 150 varieties of freshly-picked heirloom tomatoes from Kendall-Jackson's extensive gardens can be sampled and some of the nation's top chefs and fine foods purveyors will be creating and serving gourmet tomato delicacies of all types. Photo: Geneva Anderson
Cherry and Currant division and went on to win Best of Show−the Golden Trowel− and she also won the White and Green division and all three prizes in the Paste division. For those who enjoy the thrill of a live demo, there will be a chef competition featuring Kevin Gillespie, a contender on Bravo’s hit show “Top Chef“.
Stay tuned to ARThound for a tomato-centric interview with Kendall-Jackson’s executive chef Justin Wangler who will head the K-J culinary team in this culinary extravaganza.
Details: Saturday, September 10, 2011 • 11am – 4pm, Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton, California 95439, information: 707.571.7500
TICKETS– This year’s festival is completely sold out, but make sure to check Kendall-Jackson’s webpage in May 2012 for information and tickets for the 16th Annual Festival in September 2012. Tickets, $65, are pre-sold only (3,000 are available) and will be available online at www.kj.com, or at the Kendall Wine Center itself or the Healdsburg Tasting Room.
Directions: From Highway 101 going NORTH, take River Road exit. Come to stop light and turn LEFT going over the freeway. Travel approximately 1 1/4 mile to first stoplight, which is Fulton Road. Turn RIGHT at Fulton Road.
Kendall-Jackson Wine Center is less than 1/2 mile on the LEFT side of the road. (If you go over the Hwy 101 overpass on Fulton, you’ve gone too far.)
From Highway 101 going SOUTH, take Fulton Road exit. The FIRST driveway on the right is the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center.
