Dear Local Gourmands,
This week’s news is dipped in chocolate– there’s a tasting, talk, or tour nearly every day leading up to February 14. Though cacao beans aren’t grown locally, we have a pretty incredible roster of small-scale, local, artisanal chocolatiers in the city who are sourcing their product responsibly to make sure even the most conscious of eaters can still nip into a bag of nibs knowing their act of indulgence is part of a much larger circle of trade, and fair trade at that. Not to mention the superior quality of flavor! Learn a little, then try a little, noting how much better that truffle tastes when you know where it came from and a bit about the hand who crafted it.
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Jeanne
Monday, February 8, 6-7pm
Sustainable Pleasure for the Palate and the Planet
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
free
“The Rainforest Alliance presents: Sustainable pleasures for the Palate, An Open Discussion On Responsibly Produced Goods. The Rainforest Alliance connects businesses to consumers worldwide in an effort to bring responsibly produced goods and services to the global marketplace where the demand for sustainability is steadily growing. By transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior The Rainforest Alliance seeks to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods. The Rainforest Alliance also works with tourism businesses, helping them succeed while leaving a small footprint on the environment and providing a boost to local economies.”
Monday, February 8, 6:30-8:30
Wine’s Best Kept Secret: Authentic Sherry
Culinary Historians of New York
International Wine Center
350 Seventh Ave., #1201 btwn. 29th and 30th Streets
Tickets, $40 (non-members), $25 (members)
Linda Lawry, Director of the International Wine Center, is an official sherry educator, certified by the Consejo Regulador in Jerez, the region of Andalucia, Spain, where sherry has been made exclusively over the last 2000 years. Sherry’s styles and flavors are more varied than those of any other wine in the world. Lawry discusses the history of this fabled wine, sheds light on where the grapes are grown, and leads a tasting of a wide array of different sherries, including a very rare vintage, 1978 Gonzalez Byass Palo Cortado.
Monday, February 8, 7-9pm
The Chemistry of Love
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
Tickets, $55
“Have you ever wondered why cheese and chocolate seem to put you in the mood? Well, they both contain phenylethylamine (PEA), a compound releasing endorphins into the brain and producing a mild feeling of euphoria, similar to the sensation of being in love. Rhonda Kave from Roni-Sue’s Chocolates and Anne Saxelby from Saxelby Cheesemongers will share with you some of these good feelings as you will taste their best sweet and savoury selections of the moment!”
Tuesday, February 9, 6-7:30pm
The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao
New York Historical Society
170 Central Park West, at 77th St.
Tickets, $10 HSNY members, $20 non-members
212.757.0915 x100
Culinary historian Maricel E. Presilla, author of The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes, covers the trends in chocolate and cacao research in an illustrated lecture and tasting at The Horticultural Society of New York. Sample some of the country’s best new artisanal chocolates as well as the author’s collection of Latin American-inspired chocolate truffles. Savory foods laced with chocolate, cacao and hot chocolate will be served as well.
Tuesday, February 9, 6-7pm
Eating Local and Seasonal with Slow Food NYC
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
free
“Slow Food NYC is dedicated to the enjoyment of local and seasonal food and to celebrating real food as a cornerstone of pleasure, culture, and community. The Slow Food movement supports good stewardship of our productive land and water resources and biodiversity, engages in educational outreach, works with children in schools and with community-based food producers, and advocates for the availability of good, clean food in our community, particularly to our children.”
Tuesday, February 9, 7pm
Bushwick Food Coop Movie Night
Tandem
236 Troutman, Bushwick
Suggested donation, $5
During the month of February the Bushwick Food Coop is presenting a film series at Tandem bar on Troutman St., plying viewers with food films and talk backs with the filmmakers, as well as cocktails to ease the edge of February. This week’s selection is Two Angry Moms.
“It all started with my daughters’ lunch. My husband and I were packing healthy lunches for our kids, only to find that we were being undermined by the school’s offerings of junk food with no nutritional value. It made me angry. So I decided to do something about it. I made a movie. “
Tuesday, February 9, 7-9pm
The Art of Artisanal Chocolate Making with Bespoke Chocolates
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
$45
“Join Rachel Zoe Insler, chocolatier and co-owner of Bespoke Chocolates, on her personal journey to making artisanal chocolate. Deeply inspired by her visits to European artisanal chocolate shops, Rachel decided to bring that experience to New York by opening Bespoke Chocolates. Each of Bespoke chocolates is made by hand, in small batches, but Bespoke’s unique perspective goes deeper than that. Rachel recognizes that much like good wine or coffee, fine chocolate is complex, and highly affected by its terroir and processing. To fully understand the Bespoke experience, we recommend to observe and smell before slowly closing your eyes while delicately putting each one of Rachel’s chocolates in your mouth. Let the chocolate melt on your tongue, enjoy the freshness of the truffles, and let the magic happen while sipping delicious local beer!”
Wednesday, February 10, 4:30-8:30pm
Our World 2030: Preparing a New Generation for a Sustainable Future
The City College of New York
160 Convent Avenue
Shepard Hall, Room 550
Register here, (the event is free)
This discussion will explore why the economic viability and well-being of every community depends on education for sustainability and the transformation to a green economy. Will examine the critical issues of education and workforce training needed to leverage the emerging green economy—including issues of inclusion that minority populations and communities face in tapping the potential of a sustainable future.
Wednesday, February 10, 6-7pm
Fair Trade Practices in Cacao Production with Annie Novak
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
free
“Annie Novak is founder and director of Growing Chefs, field-to-fork food education program; the children’s gardening program coordinator for the New York Botanical Gardens, and co-founder and farmer of Eagle Street Rooftop Farm in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in partnership with Goode Green and Broadway Stages. Annie has worked with the Greenmarket, Slow Food, and Just Food advocating and growing urban agriculture throughout NYC. A lifelong vegetarian, Annie has spent many years traveling and investigating different ways people grow and eat their food around the world, from chocolate in West Africa to potatoes in Peru. She has appeared (talking about plants and food, of course) in New York Magazine, the Today Show, Edible Brooklyn and the Martha Stewart Show. She has farmed in nine countries and four boroughs.”
Wednesday, February 10, 6-10pm
Lower East Side Ecology Center’s Winter Warmer Happy Hour
Fontana’s
105 Eldridge St.
Suggested donation, $15
Warm up with your friends from the Lower East Side Ecology Center and talk big plans for the year ahead. These are the folks who teach the merits of composting to the urban masses, take your kitchen scraps, and sell terrific potting soil. Come to Fontana’s to connect with them and hear about their projects for 2010.
Wednesday, February 10, 6:30-9:30
Tastebuds NYC
Spuyten Duyvil
359 Metropolitan, Williamsburg
The Tastebuds NYC February meet up lures the crew to Spuyten Duyvil for good beer in Brooklyn. If you’ve never been, this is a terrific, and ever-changing group of food industry professionals, home cooks, and enthusiastic eaters alike who get together once a month to talk shop about projects, swap info for job connections, share titles of books, and always do so over good food and drink. Conveniently, Fette Sau is located across the street from Spuyten Duyvil. Make some new friends, then do some serious bonding over serious BBQ.
Thursday, February 11, 6-7pm
The Importance of Pollination with Andrew Coté
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
free
“Bees Without Borders is the brainchild of Andrew Coté, former high school dropout and vagabond turned Fulbright Scholar and professor. He was born into a beekeeping family in Connecticut and is (at least) the 4th generation to carry on this ancient skill. Through the U.S. State Department’s USAID, Andrew volunteered to go to Iraq to assist Iraqi beekeepers, and to Niger and India to bring beekeeping skills to village cooperatives.”
Thursday, February 11, 7-9pm
Local Eats, Global Buzz
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
Tickets, $75
“Let Chef Heather Carlucci-Rodriguez delight your tastebuds with a chocolate tasting menu including olive oil, local cheese, and honey, and orchestrated in duo with beekeeper Andrew Coté, who will excite your imagination with bee stories from all around the world.”
Friday, February 12, 6-7pm
New Farmer Development Project with CENYC
Chocolate & I, New York
511 W. 25th, btwn 10th and 11th Aves
free
“The New Farmer Development Project (NFDP) identifies, educates, and supports immigrants with agricultural experience to become local producers and establish small farms in their region. By training the next generation of regional farmers, the NFDP is helping preserve local farmland and rural farm communities, strengthen farmers, markets, and regional food security, while expanding public access to high-quality, locally-grown farm products.”
Saturday, February 13, 12-5pm
Greenpoint Food Market: A Food Affair
Church of the Messiah
129 Russell btwn. Nassau and Driggs, Greenpoint
Give your sweetheart some Brooklyn love with gifts from the Greenpoint Food Market’s Valentine’s Day edition. The market’s return this Saturday brings some of Brooklyn’s best artisanal purveyors together: jams from Anarchy in a Jar, Brooklyn Brine pickles, DP Chutney Collective, and many others represent plenty of local ways to spread the love around.
Sunday, February 14, 11am
New York Valentine’s Chocolate Tour
Starts at MarieBelle Chocolates
484 Broome St. at West Broadway
Spend Valentine’s Day sampling New York’s finest bonbons on this walking chocolate tour of the city.
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Of note a few weeks down the road…
Tuesday, February 16, 6:30-8pm
Eat What You Grow, Grow What You Eat
The Brooklyn Kitchen Labs
100 Frost St., Williamsburg
Rooftop farmer and founder of Growing Chefs, Annie Novak, leads a series of classes at the Brooklyn Kitchen Labs on how to start your own edible urban garden. Over the course of four class sessions she’ll guide students through the necessary winter-time tasks, seed ordering, and plot preparation to make way for a successful growing season ahead. Sign up now as this course is sure to sell out fast!
Tuesday, February 16, 6:30-8pm
What to Eat: Diet, Nutrition, and Food Politics– An Evening with Marion Nestle
The New York Academy of Sciences
7 World Trade Center
250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor
“This evening, Marion Nestle will address the science of nutrition, explaining how hard nutrition science is to do and to interpret, and yet how easy it is for food marketers to confuse the science to sell products. Nestle will discuss the hot topics of sponsored science, functional foods, health claims, and self-endorsements, with plenty of time to answer audience questions.”
Thursday, February 18, 6:30pm
Southern Cooking in New York City
The Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Ave.
Reservations required, purchase tickets here
The Museum of the City of New York, in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance and Mississippi Development Authority/Division of Tourism, will host a discussion focusing on how The Great Migration transformed the culinary culture of the North. Leading the discussion are Jessica Harris, author of a forthcoming history of African-American foodways, and one of the 50 founders of the Southern Foodways Alliance. In 2007, she took leave from Queens College (where she is a full professor) to assume the Ray Charles Chair at Dillard University in New Orleans. And Ted Lee, one of the James Beard award-winning Charleston Lee brothers. Ted, along with his brother, Matt Lee, is at work on a book of essays about New York City food culture. The work will certainly examine the influence that South Carolina natives have had on New York, but at its core, the book will be a celebration of the multicultural delights of our nation’s culinary capitol. John T Edge will moderate the discussion.
Monday, February 22
Get Fresh Dinner to Support BK Farmyards
Get Fresh Market and Table
370 Fifth Ave., Park Slope
Tickets, $95-$125
Sup to support the creation of BK Farmyards’ 1-acre schoolyard farm at Brooklyn’s High School for Public Service. Feast on a three-course, locally-sourced dinner at Park Slope’s cozy Get Fresh Market and Table.
Tuesday, February 23, 7pm
Hungry Filmmakers
Anthology Film Archives
Tickets, $15 (proceeds benefit Just Food)
Kerry Trueman, blogger extraordinaire of Eating Liberally and the Huffington Post, hosts this month’s Hungry Filmmakers screening at Anthology Film Archives. The roundup of six new films and shorts focus on furthering a conversation about sustainable food in a social and welcoming environment. A panel discussion with the filmmakers follows.
“Throughout the films in this lineup, our filmmakers explore the dire effects of over fishing and the underlying causes of food-borne illnesses, the lack of fresh food in underserved communities, and the growth of sustainable food production practices that are inspirational to all.”
Films: FRESH Ana Sofia Joanes, MAD COW INVESTIGATOR Nancye Good WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE? Catherine Gund, THE END OF THE LINE Rupert Murray, FLY ON THE WALL Jenny Montasir.
Sunday, February 28, 8:30am-6pm
Just Food’s Annual CSA in NYC Conference
Just Food
Teacher’s College, Columbia University
The great thing about the off season (as it were) is that it gives us all a little down time (or at least time indoors) to plot and plan for the year ahead. Take part in Just Food’s annual CSA in NYC Conference on February 28 to converse with farmers, food activists, and advocates from around the city and state to talk about how to start a CSA, how to strengthen the one you are a part of, issues facing regional farmers, and how we can all maximize our roles in the movement to increase access to locally grown food throughout the city.
