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If you haven’t noticed the buzz around the old Thomas and Vaughan winery site in Beamsville this summer, you owe it to yourself to stop by on Sunday afternoon when local food producers set up shop. The Niagara Good Food Fair is a farmers’ market style event brings farmers and consumers together in a celebration of fresh, organic, locally produced food. The fair kicked off this season in mid–July, runs consecutive Sundays until October 3, 2010, and is open from 11 am until 3 pm.
On site you’ll find farm–fresh eggs and organic vegetables from Tawse Winery; natural charcuterie and sausages from Niagara Food Specialties; oven–fresh breads from De La Terre Bakery; and a host of other wholesome products. It is a rare opportunity to talk to the people who share a passion for healthy, local food prepared with care and attention to detail. It is sort of an art exhibition where food provides the inspiration and the artisans create a beautiful landscape using our palate as their canvas. A fine example of the artisans you’ll meet at the fair is Deborah Molokach, a baker at De La Terre – who happens to have a background in art. Molokach explains that pastry is her passion and it is the reason that she “bakes the pastries on her own time” so she can practice this art form. Her moist strawberry spelt cake with peach butter cream, with its light texture and fresh fruit flavors, removes the guilt that is usually associated with savoring a rich dessert.
At the Tawse Winery table an array of pristine organic vegetables and fresh eggs await. That’s right, a winery that grows more than just grapes. Dieter Unruh, Hospitality Manager at Tawse, explains that the idea to start an organic garden at the winery came from winemaker Paul Pender. According to Unruh,“...biodynamics is all about biodiversity,” a concept that is reinforced by the fact that the winery also has about one hundred chickens. Unruh also notes, “netted pens are now required to protect the chickens from the hawks.”
Over at the Goshen Farms booth Liz Black, who calls herself a “lifetime farmer”, sells grass–fed lamb from the back of a pickup truck. After years of raising horses, Black says she turned to rearing sheep, and 10 years later the sheep are the mainstay of the farm. I couldn’t resist buying a pair of frozen lamb shanks that will be featured on a late fall menu at home. For immediate gratification, treat yourself to a lean and tasty Goshen Farms lamb burger grilled to perfection by Chef Tim Besserer or sample the best in artisan cheeses, such as “Little Prince” and “Nika” from Monforte Dairy in Stratford.
Leader of Slow Food Niagara Karen LaVigne is one of the “worker bees” at Rosewood Winery and Meadery. She proudly displays local honey and natural beeswax along with canned preserves while explaining that canning workshops are planned for the fall to instruct consumers in the art of storing Niagara’s bounty for the winter months ahead. Art exhibits are already a mainstay and local musicians are also to be featured in the future. V
For more information contact:
Jan Campbell- Luxton,
De La Terre Bakery,
(905) 562-1513
info@delaterre.ca
NIAGARA GOOD FOOD FAIR
4251 King St.
Beamsville.
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