A lot of restaurants are talking a big game about using local foods, but the reality of securing what they need in a timely manner can be a whole other story. Enter Fork & Shovel, which is hosting a kickoff party Oct. 5 with a stellar lineup of farmers and chefs.
Some of the biggest names in the local food biz are gather on Sunday, Oct. 5 in Healsburg to kick off a fundraiser for Fork & Shovel, a direct link between local — and we mean really local, as in within a few miles — farms and chefs.
But wait, isn’t the mantra of many local restaurants “Fresh, Local, Sustainable”? Aren’t they already hooked in with the farmers? Turns out the answer is yes and no. Some get their produce from farm markets, some directly from the farmers and others from third-party vendors. Fork & Shovel aims to link sustainable producers like Tierra Vegetables, Green String and Love Farms, along with other small local growers right to the kitchens of Cyrus, Odyssey, Rosso and Santi (among many others) via the Internet. You’ve got 40 pounds of squash? I need 40 pounds of squash. Kablam, match made.
The yenta behind all this mutual love is Barndiva’s Jil Hales. She’s enlisted Slow Food Russian River along with a groundswell of supporters including Zin’s Jeff and Susan Mall and a host of other Healdsburgers to get behind the effort.
The group will host their first dinner/fundraiser on Sunday, Oct. 5 at the restaurant. Though tickets are $125 per person, $90 is tax deductable (such a deal!) and the roster is a who’s who of Sonoma’s food and wine scene:
“Appetizers and a Five-course meal prepared by the chefs
of Cyrus, Barndiva, Syrah, Park Ave. Catering, Rosso, Zin, Santi,
Central Market, Mosaic, and Seaweed Café Catering. All of the food for the meal will be purveyed from local Fork & Shovel producers. Local organic or biodynamic wineries
will be poured with the meal including Porter Creek, Sky Saddle,
Quivira, DeLoach, Michel-Schlumberger, Iron Horse, Preston,
Medlock Ames.”
Find out more about Fork & Shovel or buy tickets for the event.