First event of Whidbey Island's slow food chapter

Slow Food Whidbey Island Chapter first event.

Date/time: Sunday, June 27th 2 - 4 p.m..

Location: Greenbank Farm, large barn adjacent to wine shop (The Greenbank Sunday Farmers' Market overlaps a bit; open 11 a.m. until 3 p.m

Admission: $25 per person includes food and wine. Minors are not invited.

1. The Slow Food movement began in Italy in the late 1980s to provide an alternative influence to the encroachment fast food in European eating habits and life style. The mission is to show people that updated pre-industrial food production methods and manufacture are viable, healthful, preferable alternatives to current food manufacturing and agribusiness practices. The top  item on the current agenda of Slow Food USA is nutritious food in school cafeterias across the country. Google: slowfoodusa.com for more information.

In August of last year Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard  hosted an informational potluck and meeting for Whidbey residents interested in starting a local Slow Food chapter. A small group of mostly growers, chefs and friends met for several months to discuss a vision for Slow Food on Whidbey. The group became the steering committee which fulfilled Slow Food USA requirements to become a bon fide chapter. The June 27 event at the Greenbank Farm is the group’s first event. Officers are Rio Rayne, Membership; Sheryl Abrams, Programs; Aracely Knox, Treasurer; Vincent Nattress, Vice-chair; Barbara Graham, Chair.

2. The concept for the Whidbey Island event is to teach about what Slow Food means by way of tasting, smelling, seeing beautiful, local product cooked by local chefs. We'd like people to learn to appreciate real food which has been handled more by hands than machines. The message will show why these Whidbey growers give their crops and animals such care, time, energy to produce high quality, nutritious product and why these Whidbey chefs bother to buy a local product from them instead of cheaper sources trucked in from  far and wide.

Each chef and grower will share a table with the chef's prepared food available for guests to eat and the grower's raw product ingredients available to see and learn about. The guests will  be able to talk with chefs and growers about the food and view the raw product.  It is a rare opportunity to catch these chefs out of their kitchens for a chat!

Chefs Scott Frazer (Frazer’s), Joe Scott (Oystercatcher), Andreas Wurzrainer (Christopher’s), Sieb Jurriaans (Prima Bistro), Kathy Longstreet (Deception Café), Jan Gunn (Whidbey Pies Café) will offer small plates of food prepared with ingredients grown by one of their regular suppliers of locally grown product. The growers involved, Rosehip Farm, Penn Cove Shellfish, 3-Sisters Beef, Willowood Farm, Bell’s Farm. Guests will taste the food and learn why Whidbey-grown ingredients are appreciated by chefs of fine dining restaurants.

Vintner Greg Osenbach (Whidbey Island Winery) will pour wine and tell his story about growing grapes and making wine on Whidbey for the past 25 years. His wines and other locally-made wines may purchased by the bottle in the Greenbank Farm Wine Shop. Greenbank Wine Store will provide wine glasses.

Tickets will be sold at the door. Advance tickets will be sold at the Deception Pass Café & Grill.; Whidbey Pies and Greenbank Farm wine shop; in Coupeville  at the Oystercatcher, Christopher's, bayleaf; at Frazer’s and bayleaf in Oak Harbor; at Solutions Salon in Freeland; at Prima Bistro and Whidbey Island Winery in Langley. Willowood Farm and Rosehip Farm will well tickets at Coupeville Farmers’ Market,