A Local Feast

When most of us think of eating locally, we think of doing so in summer, when gardens are burgeoning with fresh produce, or during those bountiful harvest months of early fall.
But food, of course, is about more than just produce. And, yes, we can consume a largely local diet year round. It just requires a little effort.

If I said you could dine on smoked arctic char on microgreens with oven dried tomatoes, pheasant galantine or wild boar prosciutto-wrapped beef tenderloin all made with local ingredients, you might not believe me. Lucky for us, I speak the truth. Should you make plans to swing by the Walper Terrace Hotel on April 24, you can check that out for yourself.

The President’s Gala Dinner is a joint effort between the Waterloo chapter of the Canadian Culinary Federation and Foodlink, a local organization dedicated to raising awareness of, as executive director Peter Katona puts it, “food localism.” The evening, open to one and all, will act as a fundraiser for both organizations, which are not-for-profit, and, they both hope, help raise awareness of the year-round food bounty that can be found in Waterloo and Wellington regions (and slightly beyond).

The partnership between the two groups originally started with their Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event. Held outdoors in September, the annual afternoon sees local chefs and farmers paired up to create all kinds of culinary delights. Katona said it was Chef Dean Michielsen of the federation (and Fergus’s Breadalbane Inn) who first approached him with the idea of a spring dinner.

“It’s a bit more of a challenge,” says Katona, comparing this event to the September one. “We’re out of fresh produce season, so it will be a real awakening. People will be saying, ‘Oh wait a minute, I can eat locally in April?’ ”

Indeed, we can. And by way of a five-course, sit down meal (unlike the Taste Local! Taste Fresh! event, where nibblers wander from stand to stand, grazing). Local chefs (from Liason and Conestoga College, Charbries, the Walper and, of course Michielsen himself) have given the event an Earth Day theme, and will prepare courses based around the elements.

Fish comes from Lyndon Hatcheries in New Dundee, beef and prosciutto are sourced by Ayr’s Oakridge Acres/Well Fed Meat Store, and greens come from Slegers Greenhouses, an organic producer in nearby Strathroy. There will also be a dessert featuring Wellesley apple butter and double cream brie ice cream (!) made from Listowel’s Harmony Organics’ cheese.

“We really want to build that awareness of where food comes from and get people to enjoy it, show them that it’s easy to do,” says Michielsen. “It doesn’t have to be from an exotic place to taste good.”

If I’ve tempted you enough (it’s the brie ice cream that gets me), you can procure your tickets for the Presidents’ Gala event ($85 each or two for $150) online at http://www.foodlink.ca/ or by calling the Foodlink office at 519-513-8998.
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