Good Morning, folks. So, heres whats going on. Two more prospective spaces have fallen through, and nothing that suits are needs is even available, let alone affordable. We also need time to continue developing our Appalachian Foodways book/video concept, and I have agreed to do an internet video series for Connotation Press that the publisher envisions as The Galloping Gourmet meets The Young Ones, with food, cooking, local musicians, artists, oddities, irreverant anarchy, and the sort of general mayhem that you will never see on the Food Network. Like Neil Youngs Human Highway, it may not make any sense, but its gonna be a lot of fun. And again, consider that if we did find a new a space tomorrow, it would still take a year to get it open and running. So, we have decided to explore alternatives to the traditional restaurant concept. To this end, we have revived the Global Feature Dinner Series, rechristened as the Appalachian Global Dinner Series, and will be presenting them in a variety of venues throughout the year. All of the Dinners will be presented in Morgantown or the immediate area, but I am hoping to take this on the road and also do them at some other venues around West Virginia. Many of the Dinners will be presented as a joint effort between myself and a fellow Chef at various restaurants around town, with the gracious Chef hosting and myself as Guest Chef. We have eight restaurants already on board, with several more awaiting executive decision. But the really exciting part of this for me is that we are going to do some of these dinners outside; set up in a field, or in a barn, or beside a waterfall in one of our lovely local parks. After thirty years of living in mostly dark smoky commercial kitchens, Im ready to work out in the sunshine for awhile. Or under the stars. Or even in the rain. This does not mean that we have given up on opening a new restaurant, but we honestly couldnt find a venue that didnt feel like a cliche. Mostly really expensive overpriced cliches. When we opened Solera ten years ago, we could afford to set new standards for quality and creativity. Cheap rents and a dedication to our vision made it possible, even if we did have to live in the restaurant office for two years and work day jobs to make ends meet. The end more than justified the means; we were doing what everyone said coudnt be done, and we were completely independant, the American dream in action. But, to maintain those standards at the price of real estate today, and while raising two children, we would have to charge fifty dollars a plate. I think we all agree that that is not acceptable; I will not price the middle class out of my restaurant, and I will not lower my standards down to serving crap like coca-cola to make ends meet. So, in the words of William Least Heat-Moon, we will proceed as the way opens and trust that fate and hard work will carry us through. So, here is the tentative Appalachian Global Dinner Series schedule. Venues and exact dates for the events will be announces at least a month in advance, and this time around they will be reservation only, although there will always be a few spots saved for walk-ins. If any of you folks reading this are affiliated with local restaurants, bars, lounges, clubs, farms, breweries, wineries, distilleries, or any other place where you think this might work, let me know; we are open to any suggestion, and the stranger the better. In particular, if anyone has suggestions for places around the state outside the Morgantown area, please let us know, and if possible, include contact information. January ~ 10th Anniversary Rum and Chocolate Dinner – Single-Origin Heirloom Chocolate Dishes Paired with Small- Batch Rums February ~ The Maritimes ~ Cuisine of Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia March ~ The Cuisine of Yeman ~ Portuguese and Indostani Influences in the Coastal Middle East March ~ West Virginia Craft Beer and Global Artisin Cheese ~ Paring Local Craft Beers with Rare Handmade Cheeses of the World April ~ Appalachian Ramp Lollipalooza - Ramps Thirty Ways: This Aint Your Grandma’s ‘Church Social Ramp Dinner Fundraiser’ May ~ Scottish Keiseki ~ Japanese-Scots Fusion Featuring a Scottish and Japanese Whisky Pairing June ~ Pre-Colonial Appalachia ~ The Native Cuisine of the Seneca, Shawnee, and Cherokee June ~ Edible Music ~ Twelve Iconic Food Songs Re-imagined as Small Plates Paired with Libations From Twelve Classic Drinking Songs July ~ Bolivia : Where the Pampas Meets the Andes ~ Traditonal Bolivian Cuisine Featuring a Pit-Roasted Alpaca and a Spit-Roasted Rhea July ~ Highway 61 Revisited ~ Mississippi River Soul Food: Cool Beer and Haute Tamales August ~ Before Myanmar ~ Historic Cuisine of British Burma August ~ 1 Mile Meal ~ Pop-Kitchen on a Local Farm: Preparing an Entire Meal Using Only Ingredients From Within One Square Mile September ~ Flogging A Dead Horse ~ The 7th and Absolutely Last Ever Appalachian Deconstruction and Molecular Gastronomy Dinner October ~ Wild Appalachia ~ Modern and Traditional Cuisine Prepared Using Only Wild Fish & Game and Foraged Ingredients October ~ 10th Annual Day of the Dead Celebration ~ Traditional Oaxacan Cuisine Paired with Single-Village Mescals November ~ Georgia Meets Georgia ~ The Cuisine of Asiatic Georgia’s Caucaus Mountains Crossed with the Southern Appalachian Cuisine of American Georgia November ~ Bourbon and Beef ~ The Terroir of Appalachian Beef: Grass-Fed Beef from Diverse Regions of West Virginia Paired with Single-Barrel Bourbons December ~ Sugar and Spice ~ Following the Global Foodpath of Sugarcane and The Spice Islands Through History
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 13:20:38 +0000