Do you know Madame Fromage? You should. Not only does this lady write about one of the indisputable beauty queens of the fermentation world, but she does it with so much style and slink that it would have to be read aloud by Siri to seem anything other than inspired. She is a champion of artisan, local cheeses, the author of a sexy cheese tome and an educator. Better yet, she has an encyclopedic knowledge of the stinkiest, sultriest dairy bites from all around the world and you can get a taste just by reading her blog.
By now, you must know High Street on Market. I’ve raved about them repeatedly, done a series of fermentation dinners with them and the food press is simply obsessed with them! High Street was just named number two on the list of Bon Appetit’s “Hot Ten” list of the best new restaurants in the US for 2014 (that’s #2 in the country!), Executive Chef Eli Kulp was named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs for 2014 , Pastry Chef Sam Kincaid was named to one of 15 Eater Young Guns and Head Baker Alex Bois was named to Zagat’s 30 under 30 for Philadelphia (and apparently Bon Appetit’s Andrew Knowlton wants to make sweet, sweet love to his breads. No one who has tasted them would blame him.). In short, their talent, skill and hard work has earned them some well-deserved press. To top that all off, these people have none of the stereotypical chef braggadocio. They are humble, kind, hard-working and open minded. Finding a big ego amongst them would require truckloads of Vitamin A, and my eyesight just ain’t that good.
You may be able to tell by now that I love these people and the work that they do. They are inspired and inspiring, so when I heard that they were collaborating on a farm dinner series that would take place under the moon at local creameries, I immediately picked up the phone. There will be a total of three dinners and the last will be tomorrow. Due to pre-existing travel plans, Jake and I were only able to attend one, but wow! If we’d been able to make it to them all we would have, especially after the stunning, joyful meal that was prepared by Chef Kulp and Chef Nodler (also named to Zagat’s 30 under 30 this year) at the dinner we were able to attend at Cherry Grove Farm.
The dinners are intimate and fun and showcase the ripest seasonal goods you can imagine, including meat from animals raised on the farms themselves, cheeses handmade by the folks sitting next to you and produce grown mere feet away from your table. If you can snag a spot for tomorrow (it might be worth the bad karma earned by hoping someone gets sick), do it! I’m including some photos of the event (click the arrows on the photos above) to whet your appetite, but just know that I’m only showing you a small fraction of the total number of dishes. I would have loved to have shared photos of them all with you, but there were plenty of photos that were just straight up blurry. It suffices to say that this was a feast by anyone’s standards.
Madame Fromage says
Style and slink! I love it! Thanks so much for coming out to support the New Moon Farm Dinner at Cherry Grove, especially after a long drive to Vermont. It was great having you there!