Jasperites learned how to transform organic produce into delectable morsels at the Meadows to Menu community dinner, Aug. 5, and then chowed down on a feast of regional food prepared by the chefs at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge.
The second annual event, which attracted 139 locals, was presented in partnership between Twin Meadows Organics in McBride, B.C. and JPL as a way of connecting the community to the source of their food.
Farmers Gary and Wendy Lowe of Twin Meadows deliver produce to Jasperites through a weekly food box program, and also provide JPL with produce for its menus.
To demonstrate how to use that produce, Paul Shewchuk, JPL’s executive sous chef, cooked a hemp seed crepe with a quinoa salad and smoked Pacific salmon, while Wendy later shared her quick and easy recipe for fermented vegetables, using vegetable scraps.
During the demonstration, kids gathered around the petting zoo to check out the goats and ducks, as well as the Lowes’ horse, and the adults formed a semi-circle around a mobile stovetop parked on the lawn.
Then it was time to eat.
On the menu for the evening was a roasted Alberta pig cooked over a spit, wild Pacific salmon, hen and a plethora of salads and roasted vegetables prepared with produce from Twin Meadows, as well as cheeses and cured meats found in the province.
Following dinner, just as the rain started to fall, the evening was wrapped up with a $1,000 donation to the Jasper Food Bank, on behalf of the organizers.
Nicole Veerman
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