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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Sunday, 28 March 2010 15:45 |
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 The Hawaiian Island of Maui has two great agricultural events coming up this week. First is the Grown on Maui Bus Tour on April 2, which includes stops at the Hali’imaile Pineapple Company, the O’o Farm in Kula and the Alii Kula Lavender Farm (pictured left). Then, on April 3, the Maui County Agricultural Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Waikapu.
Even if you’re not able to attend these two events, there are a number of Maui restaurants working to embody the farm-to-table model, either with their own kitchen gardens or by sourcing their produce locally. Here are a few to try next time you’re on Maui, based on my experiences and those of my friend, Jennifer Franklin, who in addition to her holistic psychotherapy practice (www.opendoortherapy.com), is quite the farm-to-table connoisseur and visited the island with her husband last December. Feel free to send in any of your favorites as well! Lahaina/Kaanapali
Paris Nabavi, the chef/owner of the Cilantro Mexican Grill and Pizza Paradiso Mediterranean Grill restaurants, sources much of the produce for his restaurants from Da Kine Farms and Kula Produce, who in turn source from smaller farms on Maui and Oahu. He recently met with the new distributor for Kapalua Farms (which is under new ownership) and is hoping to start getting some of his produce from them as well.
From Jennifer: James McDonald, the owner/chef of I’o and Pacifico in Lahaina, has his own organic farm in the Upcountry, O'o farm, which also offers tours where guests can harvest their own food and then have lunch. And in Ka’anapali, most of the ingredients were locally grown at Son'z Maui at the Hyatt Regency. Even the simple mixed green salad we ordered was dressed impeccably at S'onz (Click "read more" for rest of restaurant list.) |
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Friday, 12 March 2010 02:19 |
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 As with any gathering of people, one of the highlights of the event I attended last week at the new Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, outside Tucson, Arizona, was the food. I was particularly happy to see that much of the focus at the resort was on sustainable seasonal (much of it local) produce -- from the farmers’ market-themed breakfast, with many of the local vendors in attendance, to the resort’s signature restaurant, Core Kitchen & Wine Bar, where Chef Joel Harrington has developed a close relationship with a local farmer (which we hope to highlight soon here).
For you "Top Chef" fans out there, the event also featured two finalists from the TV series: Jennifer Carroll, chef de cuisine at 10 Arts by Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia; and Jeff McInnis (pictured, above right), chef de cuisine at the DiLido Beach Club at the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach. The two chefs participated in a series of “quick fire” challenges -- doing pretty miraculous things with watermelon and cactus, I have to say -- between courses at a gala dinner and then, the next day, each taught a workshop on food trends.
Because Chef Jeff’s workshop involved not only sliders (yum) but also recipes for pickling onions and cucumbers – and because we’re about to have an abundance of onions and cucumbers in our gardens that we might just want to pickle – I attended that one. And, because I did, am happy to pass along his pickle recipes here. Enjoy! (Click "read more" for the recipes.) |
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Sunday, 14 February 2010 03:39 |
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 In honor of Valentine’s Day I thought it appropriate to highlight Love Heals Jewelry, a mother, son and daughter team who not only make their handcrafted jewelry on a family farm in Ojai but plant 10 trees for every piece of jewelry sold (and they’ve planted more than 320,000).
I discovered the jewelry last spring on a trip through San Luis Obispo. I was staying at the Petit Soleil bed-and-breakfast inn (pictured, right), which – for you GTTers who like staying at businesses that support local agriculture -- not only has its own herb garden but features locally grown products, including those purchased at San Luis Obispo's famous Thursday Farmers' Market. Petit Soleil is a few blocks from downtown San Luis Obispo where, on the first Friday of every month, the Art After Dark gallery walks take place. It was on one of these walks that I discovered Romp Shoes. Owner Karen English has a great eye for truly fabulous shoes, accessories -- and jewelry, including Love Heals. When I found out a ring I was looking at was not only exactly my size but that by buying it 10 trees would be planted, well, what could be better?
So, I said this was in honor of Valentine’s Day and that’s because a lot of people associate the day with, say, a lovely locket – but, really, who needs an excuse to buy a little bauble that both makes you happy AND adds 10 more trees to the world?
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Written by Ann Shepphird
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Friday, 05 February 2010 19:38 |
 Amid growing concerns about Colony Collapse Disorder in North American honeybees, a number of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts have added bee hives to their rooftop kitchen gardens. Not only does the addition of the hives help the environment by providing bees to pollinate area gardens and parks -- but the honey can then be harvested for use in the hotel restaurants and bars, where the honey is used to add a nice buzz (yes, I had to) to the cocktails. Fairmont hotels that have joined the program include The Fairmont Washington, D.C.; The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto; The Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick; The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver; and The Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec.
Some of the new cocktails using the homegrown honey -- and other fresh herbs and produce from the kitchen gardens -- are the Bee-tini at The Fairmont Washington, D.C., which mixes Belvedere Pomrancza vodka, clover honey, fresh grapefruit juice, mint and grenadine, and the Festival Buzz, pictured above in front of a honey harvest at The Fairmont Royal York, which combines 1 oz of white peach puree, ¼ ounce of Royal York Honey and 4 oz. of Moet Chandon champagne. |
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