Farm dinner at Floriole Cafe & Bakery
The good people at Floriole Café & Bakery are hosting a dinner celebrating farmers. And they’re adapting recipes from my own Farmers’ Markets of the Heartland! Please come - it’s June 18 in Chicago.
I’m beyond flattered, because I’m so impressed with Floriole, and not only because I knew them when. They started by selling at the Green City Market impressing people with their gorgeous baked goods.
I didn’t know it then, but my now-friend Abra Berens baked with owner Sandra Holl when Abra wasn’t farming at Bare Knuckle Farm in Northport, Michigan, a little town in Michigan’s pinky finger with sun-drenched memories from my childhood visits to my Uncle Tom’s beachfront cottage.
That’s Sandra above. After building a hungry clientele, she scored a beautiful location with soaring ceilings in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, and built a classy spot to sip a cappuccino and indulge in pastry.
To satisfy folks who can’t get to Lincoln Park during the day, and to serve up their great cooking beyond the sweets and savories they serve daily, Holl & team started monthly dinners with a set menu, held after hours.
And oh what dinners they are.
Last fall, Lauro and I enjoyed a farm dinner showcasing the bounty of Bare Knuckle Farm. Previous Floriole dinners have presented recipes from Tim Mazurek, who writes one of my favorite blogs Lottie + Doof, and is friends with my dear friend Dorie. Wow, we food people are a devoted bunch.
But back to Bare Knuckle.
When I was researching my book, I found Bare Knuckle Farm from a Twitter follower in the United Kingdom. Good news travels fast and far, it seems, because Abra had been in culinary school at Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, and then went over to England to apprentice and gather experience. She clearly has fans. When I met her in Northport, she introduced me to her farming partner Jess Piskor. They had met in Ann Arbor while working at the famed Zingerman’s, and Jess is still holding down the fort in Michigan.
I do hope you’ll come. The farmers we’ll feature include Green Acres, Ellis Farm, Gunthorp Farm, Three Sisters Garden, Growing Power and Mick Klug Farm.
And if you’re out of range for a Monday diner, I’ll be posting some of the book recipes to tantalize us all into shopping at the farmers’ market and scoring something delicious.
Hey, don’t forget to enter to win a the first free, autographed copy of my book!
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