SessionDescrip

Event Photography by Diane Douglass Photography in Chapel Hill, NC.

EVENT SPONSORS

✯ (Session 1-1) Coffee & Chocolate

Michael Harwood, Award-Winning Barrista, Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Caffe Driade & Open Eye Cafe

Sam Ratto & Starr Sink, Owners, Videri Chocolate Factory

What are the characteristics that determine your favorite cup of coffee? Taste? Aroma? Fair-trade? All of the above? How about chocolate? Both are grown in other parts of the world, so how does sustainability really factor into your daily fix? The owners of Videri and Carrboro Coffee are pros and not only understand how to balance the social issues these two industries face, but have mastered the development of two magnificent creations in chocolate and coffee! This session will put the spotlight on these two divine treats and keep your taste buds engaged with coffee and chocolate pairings, while offering a great discussion around the education and considerations involved in also making a responsible choice!

✯ (Session 1-2) Pairings with The Chef, The Brewers & The Big Cheese...

Jay Pierce, Executive Chef, Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen Restaurant

Sasha Shreders, ACS CCP, Cheese Specialist, Southern Foods

Leah Wong Ashburn, Highland Brewing Company

Amanda Hodge, Great Lakes Brewing

Popping up across the nation are pockets of beer enthusiasts who are creating complex and delectable, age-worthy brews. The flavors of these beers, much like wine, are earthy, yeasty, musty, fruity, toasty, and floral…all perfect accompaniments for artisanal cheeses. In fact, beer is the perfect accompaniment for cheese. Often on the same farm, the grain sourced for beer is the same fed to the cows. Leah Wong Ashburn and Amanda Hodge, self-proclaimed ‘beer-nerds,’ join Lucky 32 chef Jay Pierce and cheese enthusiast Sasha Shreders as they take you through the idea behind great pairings - beyond beer with burgers - and into the world of beer and cheese.

✯ (Session 2-1) Setting the Thanksgiving Table: Pairings for The Perfect Holiday Meal

Marilyn Markel, Cooking School Manager, Southern Season

Elizabeth Cooper, Wine Buyer, Southern Season

Thanksgiving is “the” holiday revered by Americans for its celebration of family and the fall bounty that results in a much-anticipated annual feast. Classic family favorites are staples on Thanksgiving menus, with many dishes only prepared and served once every year. Cultural and seasonal influences abound, with each family weaving their respective ancestry into their meal. Marilyn Markel was just a small child working in the kitchen at her grandmother's knee when she began a life-long passion for sharing her love of food. During this session, Marilyn will prepare two dishes that have stood the test of time at her Thanksgiving table, Butternut Squash and Apple Gratin, and her grandmother’s famous biscuits. Liz Cooper will pair each dish with wine, and talk about other wines perfect for serving on Thanksgiving.

✯ (Session 2-2) Practical vs. Purist: Ideals & The Real World... Can They Really Be The Same?

Bruce Schoenfeld, Wine & Spirits Editor, Travel + Leisure magazine

Cassie Parsons, Proprietor & Chef, Harvest Moon Grille, & Farmer, Grateful Growers Farm

Scott Marlow, Executive Director, RAFI-USA

Angelo Mojica, Dir. of Food & Nutrition Services, UNC Hospitals & Adjunct Instructor, UNC Dept. of Nutrition

Suzanne Nelson, Farmer, Cozi Farms

Nate Peterson, Resident District Manager (Duke University), Bon Appetit Management Company

With the population topping seven billion human beings on this planet, how sustainable can we really be? As the number of farmers declines and the population continues to rise, do we care about how economics play out and, as Americans, do we hold the rest of the world to our rising standards? Or are they rising? Do you consider yourself more practical with an appreciation for those practicing “all local” or do you walk that hard line and consider yourself a purist? On this panel, we have experts on both sides... and the discussion can go in a variety of directions, but will surely hit on the points of organic versus conventional, and a life with or without bananas... How about mangos or McDonalds? Or the practicality of producing 2000 meals a day with serious constraints related to seasons... This session will offer an opportunity to think and discuss the ideals and realities.

✯ (Session 3-1) Figs: The Cultivation and Culinary Possibilities

Dr. Bernie Herman, George B. Tindall Prof. of American Studies, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Sherri Stolfo, Lead Pastry Instructor, The Chef’s Academy

Mary Margaret McCamic, Wine Instructor, The Chef’s Academy, & Owner, The Clever Vine

Thomas Jefferson transported fig cuttings from France for his gardens at Monticello and President Cleveland savored fig preserves on his Virginia wildfowl shooting sprees. For all its storied history, when it comes to sustainability, it's hard to best the fig for high yields and low maintenance, and yet its reception as a staple is curiously limited. In this session, expect a robust dialogue on how we might rethink this fruit’s place in the Southern landscape and re-ignite a commitment to this distinctive fruit. In addition to exploring the historical context of figs, this session will examine fig's culinary possibilities. Chef Stolfo will discuss how figs work with other flavors, as well as the many ways in which figs can be integrated into delicious desserts and preserves. Mary Margaret will take the culinary journey one step further by showcasing how different wines can partner with figs in a range of forms and flavors.

✯ (Session 3-2) Constructing a Cookbook: Writing and Developing Award-Winning Recipes

Sheri Castle, food writer, recipe developer and tester, author of The New Southern Garden Cookbook: Recipes for Enjoying the Best from Homegrown Gardens, Farmers’ Markets, Roadside Stands and CSA Boxes

Bill Smith, executive chef at Crooks Corner, author of Seasoned in the South: Recipes from Crooks Corner and Home

Thousands of cookbooks flood the bookshelves of every avid cook, but which stand the test of time and are referenced time and again? Classic cookbooks, such as the Joy of Cooking, Mastering the Art of French Cooking and Larousse Gastronomique are passed down from generation to generation; from grandmother to mother and from mother to child, each with their own notes in the margins. Cookbook writing may seem simple but creating recipes and writing a cookbook extends far beyond the kitchen and into the heart and soul of the author. Sheri Castle and Bill Smith have both successfully woven their food passion and recipes into their award-winning cookbooks. Join Bill and Sheri as they take you through the whims and (sometimes funny) woes of the process while sharing a couple of favorite recipes of their own.

✯ (Session 4-1) Spirits & Oysters: Where They Begin & Pairing Them for The Perfect Ending...

Scott Maitland, Proprietor, Top of the Hill Distillery & Restaurant

Esteban McMahan, Spirit Guide, TOPO Spirits

Kevin Callaghan, Chef and Proprietor, ACME Food & Beverage

Tom Gallivan, Co-Owner, Shooting Point Oyster Company

Local is generally in the mantra for many when defining sustainability, but take it up a notch to organic + local + great tasting and all the stars align. TOPO Spirits has just hit the the shelves and we are lucky enough to have the distillery here, in Chapel Hill. This session will touch on how these spirits came into creation, then dive into how you might create the perfect drink. McMahan will talk about the makings of a great drink and prepare a few samples - then pair them up with some of the most perfect oysters and mussels available in the South! Tom will then talk about the cultivation of oysters and what you need to know to choose a great mollusk on your own. To end the session, they will offer a few perfect pairings and give a tour of the new distillery!

✯ (Session 4-2) Cheese & Wine Pairings: From Sweet to Savory & Simple to Complex

Inez Ribustello, Proprietor & Sommelier, On the Square

Alexander Kast, Head Cheesemonger, Southern Season

Breana Lai, Chef Instructor, Southern Season Cooking School & Satiate: Nutrition-to-Table

Cheese and wine have always been the easy go-to selection for a simple hors d’oeuvre. But often cheese is integrated into a multi-faceted dish, and the selection of the wine must change to accommodate the marriage of multiple flavors. How do you choose which element of the dish to highlight with a wine pairing? This session teams three experts to share delicious samples and secrets of mastering these pairings - from sweet to savory, and simple to complex.