Community Event, Saturday January 15th 2011
“Rising to the Challenges- Local Farmers, Local Food, Local Pride!"

Food Dance owner Julie Stanley will be co-speaking about buying from local farms as a restaurant. The Michigan Family Farms Conference is a forum for beginning, small-scale, and culturally diverse farmers to network, learn and build sustainable family farms.

Join us for the 8th annual Michigan Family Farms Conference on Saturday, January 15, 2011 at Lakeview High School in Battle Creek to discuss challenges and growth opportunities for family farms. Connect with other growers and great resources, network, and learn about organic certification, hoophouses, agritourism and local markets, urban school gardening, food safety, niche marketing, alternative energy, CSAs and much more!

 

more information can be found here

At times the restaurant business is all consuming. In 1974, while in
college, I applied to cook at this little hippie restaurant upstairs
in an old building on the corner of Locust and Vine in the "student
ghetto" as it was and is fondly referred to. The Troubadour restaurant
was a very warm space that has been left pretty much unchanged all
these years under the watchful eye of Kim Kavanaugh owner/chef of
Cosmos Cusina/O'Duffy's .

That was the beginning of some overlap of my career choices and Kim's.
Kim and I were not close friends but women committed to running
restaurants focused on working with fresh local foods within our
"neighborhoods".

Time seems so precious these days as I watch many of my close friends
go through cancer, care for their aging parents and begin the empty
nest phase of life. One begins to ask if what they spend 70 +hrs a
week doing makes life worth it?

I know for Kim she gave a large piece of her life to Cosmos/O'Duffys
and her neighborhood. She both loved and tired of the business I
sensed. I only hope she was able to find some peace in the realization
that she brought joy to so many people with such a warm comfortable
place to gather and eat great food. I celebrate her life and I will
miss her.

Julie

On December 16th, the gloves come off at 6pm. Reserve's own Chef Matthew Millar & Sommelier Peter Marantette take on Food Dance Café’s Robb Hammond & New Holland Brewing Beervangelist Fred Bueltman in a battle of beer vrs. wine. The Reserve team will pair wine with the French classic, Beef Bourguignon, while Robb and Fred will pair beer with Carbonnade, the Belgian stew of beef, onions, and beer. Two beverages, two beef stews, tons of fun. Vote for your favorite and resolve the age old debate.

For more information and to purchase tickets in advance please visit...
http://www.reservegr.com/news/read/beer-vs.-wine

Chefs from 15 of the area's finest restaurants and caterers will each prepare a unique "small plate" dish using the best late-harvest local ingredients. All event participants will have the chance to vote for their favorite dish, and the winning chef will be presented with this year's Golden Ladle Award.

Saturday, November 20, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts

314 South Park Street, Kalamazoo
Tickets are $35 in advance (or $40 at the door)
Proceeds will benefit Fair Food Matters.