14th Annual Forum

Conversations about Food and Culture
with
Judith Jones and Marian Burros


Sunday, August 8, 2010

5:00 till 9:00 p.m.
Shelburne Farms Coach Barn

Come celebrate the successful farmer-chef partnerships that thrive in Vermont and help enrich our local communities! This annual event, held at Shelburne Farms’ Coach Barn on the shore of Lake Champlain, offers a wonderful opportunity to mingle and break bread with farmers, growers, chefs, and neighbors all interested in insuring a fair and sustainable food system for our future.

Forum Photo

Ticket Sales:
• VFN partner and supporting member tickets are $50
• Non-member tickets are $70

Join today as a Supporting Member and receive the member ticket price!

To purchase tickets, please call 802.434.2000
Tickets are advance sale only!


2010 Forum Program:
• 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Educational Workshop - See details below. Additional registration fee required.
• 5:00 p.m. Opening Reception with passed Hors d'oeuvres, Vermont artisan cheeses and various VT product samplings
• 6:15 p.m. Judith Jones and Marian Burros, keynote conversation
• 7:15 p.m. Walk-around Dinner provided by 25 of the best chef and farm partnerships in Vermont. See entire list of participants below
• 8:00 p.m. Ice Cream Bash graciously dished up by Strafford Organic Creamery

Keynote Conversation
Since 1960, Americans have traveled an often contrasting, sometimes confusing, winding path from mastering the art of French cooking to fast food to regional cuisine and artisan cheese to the Slow Food and locavore movements and the Food Network. Among the many contributors to how contemporary Americans understand this food journey, are writers, editors, and journalists.

Join us for a lively, stimulating, and witty conversation with Marian Burros, journalist for the New York Times and author of numerous books, and Judith Jones, editor for Knopf and author of The Tenth Muse and Cooking for One. They offer perspectives and anecdotes ranging from Julia Child to Michelle Obama, from comfort food to molecular gastronomy, to the impact of the media. With long-established connections to the state, both women appreciate and celebrate the changes in Vermont and the challenges still ahead to change the food system.

Educational Workshop
Pairing the Flavors of Vermont's Bountiful Harvest: Experience a unique, outdoor cooking class at the Shelburne Farms Market Garden. Watch (and taste) as Chef Sean Buchanan of Black River Produce and Suzanne Podhaizer, Seven Days food editor, team up to create simple, inspired dishes from freshly plucked produce. They'll offer new twists on a handful of common concepts — such as veggie fritters and the tomato, mozzarella and basil "Caprese" salad. Cost is $20 per person - only 20 seats available and reservations are required - call 802.434.2000. You need not be participating in the Annual Forum to purchase a ticket.


VFN Forum Group Photo

2010 Annual Forum Chef and Farm Partners
The following VFN Members will prepare dinner at the 2010 forum:

• American Flatbread • Ariel's Restaurant • Bistro Sauce • Bon Temps Gourmet • Bluebird Tavern • Cafe Provence • Chow! Bella • Elements Food & Spirit • Fletcher Allen Health Care Nutrition Services • Healthy Living • Hen of the Wood • Inn at Shelburne Farms • Leunig's Bistro • Magnolia Bistro • Michael's on the Hill • Old Tavern at Grafton • Sugarsnap • The Kitchen Table Bistro • The Perfect Wife Restaurant & Tavern • The Pitcher Inn Tavern • Topnotch • Tourterelle • University of Vermont - Sodexo Campus Services • Upper Valley Produce • Verde • And more to come!

VFN has been honored by many remarkable keynote speakers who have generously given their time and talents to this event.

Past Speakers include:
Woody Tasch, Chairman and President of the Slow Money Alliance - 2009
Dan Barber, executive chef/co-owner of Blue Hill - 2008
Gary Paul Nabhan, author, lecturer and conservation scientist - 2007
Michael Ableman, farmer, writer, photograper - 2006
Odessa Piper, pioneer chef and advocate for direct farmer and chef relationships - 2005
Christopher Kimball, television host, editor and publisher (Cook's Magazine, Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country and America's Test Kitchen) - 2004
Alice Waters, chef, author, internationally renowned local food advocate - 2003
Eliot Coleman, farmer and author - 2002