Dinner on the Creek Fundraiser - 28th July, 2018. Tickets now on sale.

Please join us on July 28th for Dinner on the Creek, a nine course exploration of deeply local and deeply artistic cuisine presented by culinary alchemist Adam Burke at the Clear Creek Schoolhouse and Community Theater.

Classically trained at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and with Michelin Star kitchen experience, Adam will be practicing his craft and offering a farm to fork dinner in an intimate setting using exclusively local ingredients.

Here on Clear Creek, we talk about eating in a way that's "radically local," and what we mean is that every ingredient is rooted (which is the origin of the word "radical") in this same land we inhabit.  In some circles, the phrase "local food" is used to include anything for hundreds of miles around, but we're drawing things much closer to home.  Most ingredients come directly from our gardens where the dinner will be held, while others, such as the pasture-raised meat and honey, come from close friends and Berea Farmers Market members.  And some ingredients we forage from the wilds of these Appalachian Foothills.  Each bite holds a story that roots our guests in place.

As the evening unfolds, guests will enjoy a multitude of courses, each introduced in such a way as to reveal those stories of connection.  As we draw nearer to the date of the event, and we know with greater clarity which seasonal delights the land will be offering up at that time, please watch the Berea Farmers Market website for the working menu to appear!

The meal will take place on the beautiful Clear Creek Schoolhouse and Community Theater grounds just seven miles from Berea.  Weather permitting, the meal will be served in the open air, nestled in the lawns between the historic farmhouse and the edge of the gardens and orchards.  In the case of inclement weather, dinner will be served in the restored centenarian schoolhouse where we host a diversity of cultural events.  Live acoustic music will be woven throughout the evening--we hope to delight all of your senses!

Tickets are available at www.bereafarmersmarket.org, or in person at the Berea Farmers Market (416 Chestnut St in Berea) on Tuesdays from 4-7 and Saturdays from 9-1.  When reserving your ticket, please let us know whether you'd prefer the omnivorous or vegetarian alternatives.  We ask for a minimum donation of $75 per person, with the option of wine pairings for $85, with proceeds benefiting the Berea Farmers Market.  Consider arriving around 5:00 to explore the gardens and grounds; a guided tour will begin at 5:20, with dinner being served at 6:00.  This is a full evening, slow food experience, with ample opportunity to linger over the flavors, so please anticipate being with us for several hours.  We recommend purchasing your ticket early, as this is an intimate event limited to 20 guests.  

We're also able to accommodate one lucky guest (or pair) with overnight lodgings in our airbnb suite--please visit https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21066086?s=51 to learn more.

We're excited for you to join us in this chance to remember that (as author and food activist Michael Pollan says) eating is an ecological act--and that far from being a limitation, bringing our food choices closer to home can be an exquisite sensory experience that grounds us in place and community!  We're also deeply grateful for your support of the Berea Farmers Market, which plays such a pivotal role in our local food culture.

To view photos of last year's Berea Farmers Market Dinner on the Creek, please visit http://tinyurl.com/augustdinneronthecreek.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at dinneronthecreek@gmail.com, and thank you again for being passionate about local food and for supporting the Berea Farmers Market!

Berea Farmers Market - But what is a Cooperative?

Earlier this week, our intern Jasmine sat down with one of our vendors to learn about our unique business structure. Berea Farmers Market is a cooperative, but what does that mean? This is what Jasmine found out...

The Berea Farmers Market as cooperative means vendors working together and pitching in where they can. The Berea Farmers Market as a cooperative exhibits horizontal leadership rather than hierarchical. Vendors are focused on collaborating and cooperating in order to support each other as opposed to competing with one another. The way the cooperative is structured can serve as a model to some businesses because they are a member based organization where everyone has a sense of ownership when voting on important decisions. All of the people work together to make the Berea Farmers Market thrive and grow.

Here are just a handful of our Berea Farmers Market cooperative members and board members from left to right; Amber Flindt (community board member), Tabea Wolf-Fourman (vendor and board president), Xyara Asplen (vendor), Laurie White (vendor and vice president board member), Susana Lein (vendor), Julie Dalton (community board member), Faye Adams-Eaton (manager), Lynne Gagliardi (vendor) and Jasmine McClain our wonderful volunteer!

Meet Your Farmers

Alec and Tabea Fourman - Sunny Wolf Farm

Alec and Tabea Fourman are farmers of the Sunny Wolf Farm, located in Rockcastle County, who were inspired to become farmers in order to know where their food was coming from. On the Sunny Wolf Farm, Alec and Tabea raise chickens and pigs who live unconfined and are fed non gmo feed. From sausage, ham, and bacon to wings, drumsticks, and thighs, various choices from the Sunny Wolf Farm are available to purchase at the Berea Farmers Market. They chose to raise chicken and pork on their farm because they recognized a gap on what the Farmers Market had to offer customers. A recipe recommendation from the farmers of Sunny Wolf Farm:

Sunny Wolf Dates
Ingredients
 Dried Dates of Plums (without the pits for ease)
 Bacon
 Food Picks

Fry bacon until almost crisp but not brittle. Remove bacon and place on paper towels to drain – keep the bacon grease in the pan. While the bacon is frying prepare your dates – remove the pits. I like to cut the dates in half. Warm up the dates in bacon grease (low heat they will burn if not watched closely!) plump them up and warm through. Alternatively, pour a little bit of hot water over the dates in a bowl but you will lose a lot of flavor.

Assemble your appetizer: Take a piece of fruit, an appropriate sized piece of bacon (some taste testing will tell you your favorite ration quickly but start on the smallish side and work your way up) and put both together with a food pick. If you feel especially fancy you can fill the date with a piece of almond but believe me this crispy, salty-sweet deliciousness does perfect by itself.

For more information about the Sunny Wolf Farm, contact Alec and Tabea Fourman at
sunnywolffarm@gmail.com.