The Cookery and American Meltdown to Host “Artisan Cheese Fest”

No matter what happens next month, it's sure to be cheesy - and for area foodies, that's a very, very good thing.

Triangle residents will be able to sample a variety of cheeses, charcuterie, bread, wine, and even cheesecakes at The Cookery Saturday, June 29th from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm.  The event, which is promoted as “for the fromagaholic in all of us,” will take place in the Front Room, The Cookery’s event space on West Chapel Hill Street.

“We at American Meltdown are, of course, pretty passionate about cheese,” said Paul Inserra, who owns the American Meltdown food truck with his wife, Alycia Inserra.  “I’m confident everyone will leave this fest with new flavor knowledge and a discovery about selecting cheese.”

Participating businesses for this free event include event co-organizer American Meltdown, which will be serving gourmet melts out of it’s food truck on the patio, Chapel Hill Creamery, Cultured Cow Creamery, Elodie Farms, Hillsborough Cheese Company, Holly Grove Farms, La Farm Bakery, Southern Season, Whole Foods, and Cookery members Milk and Honey Bakery, and This Little Piggie Charcuterie.  In addition, a “Dueling Ricottas” demonstration will be hosted by Billy Cotter of Toast and Matthew Daniels of Triangle Raw Foods, and wine tastings by Wine Authorities will take place upstairs on the mezzanine.  The Front Room bar will also be open, offering local draught beers, wine, and hand crafted cocktails.

“When we opened the Front Room, we set out to serve as a space to celebrate local culinary talent with the community,” said Rochelle Johnson, who co-owns The Cookery with her husband, Nick Hawthorne-Johnson.  “We get especially excited when we can open our doors to the public and revel in fabulous food, like the cheeses available right here in our area.”

For more information on great events in Durham, visit the Durham Event Calendar, and remember that since Durham is The Tastiest Town in the South, to use the hashtag #DurhamIsTastiest! when sharing news of Durham's food scene on social media.

A Weekend of Farm Fun

This weekend is jam packed with farm activities... First of all, it is the 17th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour sponsored by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association! The Farm Tour will feature over 40 local farms in Alamance, Orange, Person, Chatham and Durham counties, including 12 farms that regularly sell at the Durham Farmers' Market!

The Piedmont Farm Tour is the largest sustainable farm tour in the country.  It is a great way to learn more about where your food comes from and engage with the great things the farmers in our region are doing to improve the farm land and preserve natural resources.  The farm tour also acts as  great opportunity for relationship building between you and your farmers.

As a consumer, you buy your food from them at the Farmers' Market or through a CSA or off the shelves at Weaver Street, but this tour takes the level of trust between the farmer and the consumer to a new level.  You have the opportunity to see your food in the ground or in the pasture, which is something you will never have the opportunity to do with the food that you buy at a grocery store! 

The Farm Tour will run on Saturday and Sunday from 1-5pm, both days. Click here for more information about the Tour and the link to buy a button online.

Farms from DFM that are featured on the farm tour include: Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm, Flat River Nursery, Pine Know Farm, Maple Spring Gardens, Four Leaf Farm, Ever Laughter Farm, Fickle Creek Farm, Chapel Hill Creamery, Benjamin Vineyards and Winery, Harlands Creek Farm, Beausol Gardens, Piedmont Biofarm and many more great farms in the area!

Sunday is also Durham Central Market's Family Farm Day at Elodie Farms in Rougemont! Dave Artigues, owner and cheese maker, will be giving tours of the farm and he will explain the farm operation. There will also be live music and food!

Fresh this Week....
VEGETABLES:  ARTICHOKES! SUMMER SQUASH! ZUCCHINI! Asparagus, Asian Greens (Pac Choi, Tatsoi, Mizuna), Arugula, Beets, Broccoli, Broccoli Raab, Chinese Cabbage, Cilantro, Collards, Greenhouse Grown Cucumbers, Dried Herbs, Frisee, Green Onions, Green Garlic, Greenhouse Grown Green Beans, Gourds, Mustard Greens, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, New Potatoes, Onions, Rhubarb, Radishes, Salad Mix, Shiitake Mushrooms  (dried), Sweet Potatoes, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas,  Swiss Chard, Greenhouse Grown Tomatoes, Turnips, Turnip Greens
FRUITS: Strawberries!
MEATS AND EGGS: Beef, Bison, Chicken, Goat/Chevon, Lamb, Pork, Duck Eggs & Chicken Eggs
CHEESES: Fresh and aged cow and goats milk cheeses.
FLOWERS & PLANTS:  Anemones, Icelandic Poppies, Dutch Iris, Snapdragons, Vegetable & Herb Seedlings, Landscaping Plants, House Plants
SPECIALTY ITEMS:  Pecans,  Flour, Cornmeal, Grits, Baked Goods including Pies, Breads, Cookies, Pastries, Gluten Free Items, etc; Pasta, Beer, Wine, Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Preserves, Wool
CRAFTS: Pottery, Jewelry, Stained Glass Art, Handmade Baskets, Gourd Birdhouses, Woodwork, Photographs, Hand-dyed Clothing and other items, Handmade Clothing, Soaps, Yarn, Roving, and much more...

*Produce availability depends on weather conditions

Buy It to Eat t!...In Durham.

Even those with little social interaction or minimal consumption of media know that Durham is one of the nation's most vibrant food communities.  With dozens of chef/owner-driven restaurants from mobile operators to classic interpretations to concept properties, there's a whole lot going here.  Durham is not a place of hubris, but suffice it to say that there really is a little bit of most every kind of food available here.  Diversity is a well-earned local brand value, and with 77 different countries represented in the public school system it is not undeserved.

A natural pattern of market growth is playing out here, as the population is demanding more of retailers to provide them more of the ingredients they seek to create the dishes they are having in great local restaurants and about which they read in some of Durham's exciting food blogs.  After all, Durham's Farmers' Market is competing to be labeled America's favorite, The New York Times listed Durham as one of 41 places in the world to visit in 2011 largely on account of the local food scene, and chef's move here to open restaurants.  So naturally, retail was bound to follow.

Enter Reliable Cheese Company, the newest food retailer in Durham.  In case it's unclear, this place is largely a cheese shop.  Owner operator Patrick Coleff was attracted to Durham precisely because of the large and growing base of educated food consumers who either live or work here.  To shop in his store, that is filled both with product and the whispers of what more is to come soon as additional goods fill the shelves, cases and walls, is to feel that he is in this place deliberately.  He knows his product, loves what he does and is rather well, it seems, enamored of the people for whom he has opened his store.

Durham is also home other great specialty food retailers.  The list is considerable, but would be incomplete without mentioning the following:

Foster's Market - Formerly a chef for Martha Stewart, owner Sara Foster opened this landmark specialty food store with prepared foods, baked goods, gourmet grocery, wine, beer and candy.  It remains a staple for Durham visitors and locals alike.

Li Ming's Global Mart - A mecca for Asian specialty foods including live fish, an enormous produce section, significant groceries and housewares, as well as some typical domestic goods commonly found in regular grocery stores.

Tienda La Superior - The Latin American equivalent to Li Ming's with butchers, freshly made tortillas and grocery shelves stocked to the hilt with all manner of traditional south of the border specialty items.

Parker and Otis - Epic selection of candy, some specialty non-perishable grocery, beer, wine, prepared food, cheeses, housewares, coffee and tea.  That, and it's named in part for a dog, so how can that be bad?

Wine Authorities - largely a wine shop, this store also stocks bacon, bread, cheese, chocolates, coffee, olives, and sausages. They source locally that which they can.

Durham vehemently supports local business as a means to strengthen the local economy and keep Durham's celebrated independent businesses thriving. Local business advocacy organization Sustain-a-Bull hosts a bi-yearly event to promote the value and importance of supporting independent local business. Shop Independent Durham Week is coming up on July 3-10. For information on Shop Independent Durham Week, visit Sustain-a-Bull's website.

Performance Summer Camp for Youth

The Oscars have come and gone, but Durham’s young people can hone their acting skills at the Durham Family Theatre Summer Performance Camps. Each 3-week camp session is designed to enhance participants’ skill at acting, directing, costume design, set creation, and theatre sound and lighting.

But, more importantly every participant is guaranteed to play a part, have a great time, and come away enriched with new friends. At the end of each session, the student play will be shown to the public for two performances. Visit the Durham Family Theatre website for more information.

There are many other interesting summer camp options in Durham.  For a glimpse at a few of the other options, check out Durham Parks and Recreation, Piedmont Wildlife Center, Elodie Farms, and the soon to be completed Levin Jewish Community Center which accepts children from all faith environments.