Sunday, September 30, 2012

More boost for the area

Now NewYork Magazine picks up the theme

Here

Of course, they pick up on 3 of our 7 Fundraiser Dinner chefs

Here

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Registration

Because this is a blog format, where posts scroll down, we are re-posting the Registration link here

To register for the Event, classes for the home chef or the Polcyn/Ruhlman dinner please click 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Re-iteration of why to visit the area

The greater Traverse City Area continues to gain attention

Come early and/or leave late

Forbes Magazine coverage here

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Excellent piece on Brian and Michaels impact

Detroit Free Press :

New book underscores Brian Polcyn's impact on dining

"In the grand scheme of things, not many chefs can legitimately claim to have made a tangible impact on dining in America. But Brian Polcyn, a chef and teacher in our own backyard, can.
Not that he does. Or would. But he could.

It's an accomplishment largely unrecognized here, where restaurant goers and serious cooks have known his name and patronized his restaurants -- from Pike Street to Five Lakes Grill to Forest Grill -- for more than two decades.

But as he and co-author Michael Ruhlman mark the release this month of "Salumi: The Art of Italian Dry Curing," their second book on cured meats, it's an appropriate time to step back for a broader view of Polcyn and what he has contributed to cooking in America.

As much as anyone in this country, he has helped ignite a renaissance in the artisanal crafts of French charcuterie and Italian salumi -- the traditional, Old World methods of preserving meats to make everything from prosciutto and salami to country patés and smoky bacon."

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Fundraiser : the PigstockTC Dinner


SOLD OUT 

but we're already planning for 2013 !!!


Pigstock TC Dinner

Tuesday, October 23rd
6:30 pm doors open
7:00 pm dinner

Hagerty Center
$75 per person ~ Order Tickets HERE

Where do we even start?  There is  something for everyone to enjoy! 
Enjoy a seven course wine dinner prepared by some of the best local chefs.  Featured chefs include: Myles Anton from Trattoria Stella, Paul Olson from Mission Table, Guillaume Hazaël-Massieux from Restaurant La Bécasse and Bistro Foufou, Eric Patterson from The Cooks’ House, Fred Laughlin from The Great Lakes Culinary Instutite, Coburn McNaughton from The Hagerty Center and John Dayton from Black Star Farms.

Each chef will prepare a small plate course “loosely inspired” by Brian Polcyn and Michael Ruhlman’s books, including their latest book, Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing.  Polcyn and Ruhlman will be featured during the dinner where they will be interviewed, by Peter Payette from Interlochen Public Radio. 

 Wait, we’re not stopping there!  $10 of each ticket sale from Pigstock will go toward the nonprofit Michigan Land Use Institute’s farm to school program to build a 10 Cents a Meal pilot program for interested area schools. 

10 Cents a Meal, a joint project of MLUI and Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District, will provide an extra 10 cents a meal to area schools to purchase locally grown fruits and vegetables, benefiting kids and the local farm economy!

For the Home Chef


Basic Butchery for the Home Chef

Monday, October 22nd
5pm-7pm

Garde Manger Lab, Great Lakes Culinary Institute 
$50 per person - More Information and Registration HERE

Learn how to breakdown primal cuts of meat for use in the home.  Not sure what to do with the pig from the 4H Fair?  Learn how to use these meats and more.  Sample some of the products like homemade bacon and sausage.  

Aprons will be provided.  Class taught by Chef Bob Rodriguez, Instructor at the Great Lakes Culinary Institute- Northwestern Michigan College.  Chef Rodriguez teaches classes in Garde Manger, meat cutting and charcuterie.  

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Poetry

A note on meats

Note that this is an open blog, with no pre-screening for vegetarianism or pro-PETA attitudes.

The hogs used are pasture raised, treated humanly and with respect.

Slaughter is done with minimal stress, and respect for the animal

Besides - this provides the best meats

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Who are these Chefs and what are they planning?

We'll have word out soon
In the meantime, mark your calendar for evening of October 23rd 

As guitarist Brian May plays it  ... We Will Rock You




Monday, September 3, 2012