Friday, October 22, 2010

Local chefs and farmers will gather at the Feast of the Southeast to showcase dishes made with locally produced farm products at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 24 at the Roudabush Room, 33 S. Front Street. Media are invited.

First held in 2007, the Feast of the Southeast brings farmers and chefs together to discuss how to introduce local products onto their menus. The event is organized through the Farmer-Chef Partnership Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems Program (SENCFS) and the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Joshua Woo, executive chef of YoSake Sushi Restaurant is hosting the event.

"These meetings help to connect local farmers with local chefs, creating working relationships and providing chefs with healthy and wholesome options and farmers with a new market to supply that otherwise would not exist," said Leslie Hossfeld, executive director of SENCFS and UNC Wilmington faculty member.

The evening will include a discussion about seasonal foods and professional advice to local chefs about local crops. The purpose of the event is to provide practical solutions to help chefs procure and serve dishes made with local products to their customers, in support of the local economy.

SENCFS is a UNCW grant-funded economic development project. For more information, visit their web site at www.feastsoutheastnc.org. The Feast of the Southeast is a register-only event.

Media contacts:
Joy Davis, Marketing and Communications, 910.632.3903 or davisjc@uncw.edu