Something that has gotten really popular over the last few year is a concept called "local feast". The basic idea is you match a creative chef with all local food and see what kind of culinary magic will ensue. For the Glenview Farmers Market our partnership has been with chef Moreno Espinoza and Wildfire restaurant. If you ever get a chance to attend one of these dinners I strongly suggest you take part. Moreno took items from our market and made a meal that was just spectacular. He divided meal into five courses and then paired each selection with a wine that complimented the offering. For the appetizer there was whole wheat pizza with roasted vegetables and goat cheese won tons. Next was a pairing of honey-lemon grilled chicken and ratatouille along with coffee glazed lamb chops and peach chutney. The next course was a really good cheese plate from Prairie Pure Cheeses (which is partially owned by our farm veterinarian Brian Gerloff). The final course was berries trifle with pastry cream sauce. Did reading this make you hungry?
Between courses Moreno, Matt the wine expert and Roxanne and I gave a little background about the meal and where it came from. Next year I will do a better job of getting the word out about the dinner so all who are interested can sign up. It was such a unique evening. A special thanks to all the staff at Wildfire.
