Wine Institute of New England


Presents

A Foraged Feast


forest-to-table cooking demonstration with wine pairing

 

Demonstrated by
 Chef Daniel Chong-Jiménez


Hosted by 
Sunset Meadow Vineyards 
Goshen, CT

With special guest forager “Wildman” Steve Brill

 

Sunday, April 29^th, 2012

 

Experience an event like no other you have experienced before. 

Learn how to forage for wild edibles with the East Coast's most famous forager, Wildman Steve Brill, followed by a wine reception and tour of Sunset Meadow Vineyards with winemaker, George Motel. Chef Daniel Chong-Jiménez will then demonstrate how to incorporate foraged finds into a gourmet dinner prepared from locally sourced ingredients. Each course will be expertly paired with one of Sunset Meadow Vineyards' award-winning wines.

 

Foray ~ 3:30 p.m.


Wine Reception & Tour ~ 5:00 p.m.


Cooking Demonstration ~ 6:00 p.m.

Dinner with Wine Pairing ~ 7:00 p.m.

 

Cost of event: $125 per person

This event will be limited to 50 people.

For reservations or information, please call 860-591-WINE

or register online here:

 

The Evening’s Menu


featuring seasonal, locally grown foods enhanced with foraged delicacies:

Appetizer

Cato Corner Cheese with Field Garlic Chutney

Salad

Salad of Burdock Root and Japanese Knotweed with Violet Vinaigrette

Entree

Grilled Tenderloin of Beef with Sweet and Sour Garlic Mustard Root

Dessert

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Sassafras Syrup

 

In order to bring you the freshest local ingredients possible, the menu is subject to change based on seasonal availability.

 

Meet the ForagedFeasts™ Team:

Renée B. Allen, CSW ~ Renée Allen is the Founder and Director of the Wine Institute of New England, a wine education and epicurean entertainment business. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine and a member of the Society of Wine Educators. As part of providing wine education, Renee has the opportunity to work closely with many local chefs and is especially excited about the events she does involving local wines and local, sustainable foods. She is an authority on Connecticut wine and specializes in organic, biodynamic and sustainably farmed wines from around the world. The idea for ForagedFeasts came to her one day while nibbling on a wineberry in the middle of the forest. www.wineinstituteofnewengland.com

 

Chef Daniel Chong-Jiménez ~ Chef Daniel continues to focus on local and delicious foods since switching from agricultural sciences to a career in the culinary arts in the late 90s. He has many years of experience working as executive chef at destination resorts for discerning clientele. Chef Daniel is currently the Culinary Director of ChefDesigned, providing nutritious and delicious food on-the-go. A long-time resident of Connecticut and a seasoned culinary educator, Chef Daniel is well known for his entertaining and informative hands-on cooking classes. www.chefdanielonline.com

 

George Motel III, Winemaker, Sunset Meadow Vineyards ~ George Motel crafts award-winning and highly palatable wines at the Motel family’s scenic winery overlooking the Litchfield Hills in Goshen, Connecticut. SMV won Best Family Winery in 2010, awarded by Yankee Magazine’s Travel Guide to New England, and recently won first prize in 4 of 7 categories in the CT Specialty Food Association’s Products Award Competition. www.sunsetmeadowvineyards.com

 

“Wildman” Steve Brill, Forager ~ "Wildman" Steve Brill is America's go-to guy for foraging and a self-taught naturalist, environmental educator, author and artist. He's led thousands of foraging tours since 1982, working with the public, school classes, day camps, museums, parks departments, nature centers, libraries, garden clubs, organic farms, scouts and more, and also leads birthday party tours.

He designed and maintains his website, Foraging with the "Wildman," http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com, and has written Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not-So-Wild) Places, (Harper-Collins Publisher, 1994), The Wild Vegan Cookbook (Harvard-Common Press, 2001), and Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in Northeastern North America (self-published, 2008). He created WildEdibles, a master foraging app for iOS and Android devices. He stars in the DVD, "Wild Edible Basics," and his next book, Foraging with Kids, will be available in 2012.

He's appeared countless times in major electronic and print media, but he's still best known for having been arrested and handcuffed by undercover park rangers for eating a dandelion in Central Park in 1986. The media ate it up and embarrassed officials negotiated with the naturalist, dropped the charges, and hired him to lead the same foraging tours for which they arrested him. He worked for the city for 4 years before resuming freelance work.