Catawba County – It’s time for another Eat, Drink and Be Local Food Festival and Farm Feast at Raising Roots Farm. This is an annual week-long celebration of local food in Catawba County featuring farmers market cooking demos, farm tours, educational programs throughout the week and The Farm Feast on Saturday, June 28, 6pm-9pm. This years’ musical guest will be Shelby Rae Moore and we have seven great local chefs paired with six amazing local farms and the vendors of the Conover Farmers Market serving up some exciting and delicious local dishes. Tickets are $45, comes with a complimentary T-shirt and are available through Simpletix. All of the other programs are free although we encourage registration for The Art and Science of Making Miso presentation. For more information, contact April Vigardt at 828-465-8243 or alvigard@ncsu.edu, or visit catawba.ces.ncsu.edu/eat-drink-and-be-local or catawbacountyfood.com
Chef/Farm Pairings and Menus
Ben Sullivan (Charolaise Steakhouse/ Cranford Brothers Hospitality) will be paired with True Cut Ranch (cattle, chickens, pork and turkeys using regenerative practices) to showcase their beef in a Philly Steak Banh Mi Sandwich.
Calvin Reyes (North Hickory Market Restaurant) will be paired with Eyrie Summit Farm (responsibly raised chicken, pork, eggs, jams, honey, milk and soap) to offer a chicken, cherry and fennel terrine with local peach jam.
Rick Doherr (Table Nomad Catering) will be paired with Catawba Mushroom Partners (Premium mushrooms and tinctures) to bring us a mushroom tart with crispy bacon lardons, microgreens, mushroom croutons and roasted herb garlic cream.
Jason Trivette (Chef Trivettes Conceptions) will be paired with Tumbling Shoals Farm (certified organic vegetable farm) and serving up a braised lion’s mane and oyster mushroom salad with wilted collard and beet greens.
Tucker Bell (Home Fare Catering) will be paired with Steele’s Town Creek Market (sustainably raised pork, chicken and eggs) to prepare a liver mush pate with cornmeal crackers and local blueberry marmalade.
Bart Weber (Smolder n’ Smoke Food Truck and Crandford Brothers BBQ) will be paired with several vendors of The Conover Farmers Market to increase awareness of this expanding farmers market. He will feature tomatoes from C and C Farms, zucchini from David’s Produce, peaches from Webb Orchard and several other vegetables from a new farm this year, Tenacious Agrarians and duck eggs from Sunny Greens. He will also feature shitake mushrooms from DeFarm on Blueberry Hill, a U-pick Farm in Catawba. He will be serving a squash involtini with a shitake/goat cheese filling, a cured/smoked duck egg “bottarga” and pickled peaches.
Rilke Witherstine (Hatch Sandwich Bar) will be paired with Blue Goat Dairy (Goat Cheese Chevre in unique and seasonal flavors) to create a dessert featuring chevre goat cheese and local blueberries, blackberries and peaches.
A big Thank You to our sponsors, NC Cooperative Extension- Catawba County, NC Farm Bureau- Conover, The Catawba Extension Agricultural Foundation, and Blue Goat Dairy. Other Farm Feast sources include Honey Tree Farm, Hedge Family Farm, Mai’s Farm, and Linebergers Farm.
Eat, Drink and Be Local 2025 Schedule of Events
Saturday, June 21st
8am – 1pm Cooking Demonstration at Hickory Farmers Market with April Vigardt
8am– 12pm Cooking Demonstration at Conover Farmers Market with the 4H Cooking Club
Monday, June 23th
6pmTrue Cut Ranch Farm Tour
5221 Bolick Rd. Claremont
Frank and Melissa Falcone raise beef, pork, chicken and turkey using regenerative practices. They have a farm store and Melissa offers several classes on rendering lard, making sourdough and preserving food.
Tuesday, June 24th
6pmTenacious Agrarians Farm Tour
7481 R H Rd. Hickory
Tenacious Agrarians have been ramping up their vegetable production slowly over the last couple of years and will be at the Conover Farmers Market this year as well as offer their CSA boxes.
Wednesday, June 25th
10am-12pm Cooking Demonstration Hickory Farmers Market
Thursday, June 27th
11am-1pm Cooking Demonstration at The Public Health Farmers Market
3070 11th Ave. Dr. SE, Hickory, NC
Thursday, June 27th
6pm Lost Arts Program: The Art and Science of Making Miso
Brett Taubman is a professor of Fermentation Science at Appalachian State and has been studying the ancient art of making miso. Miso has been used throughout Asia as a umami seasoning and as a way to increase the nutritional content of beans and grains.
N.C. Cooperative Extension- Catawba Center 1175 S. Brady Ave. Newton, NC
Free but registration required. Call 828-465-8243 for more information.
Friday, June 28th
6pm-9pm Farm Feast at Raising Roots Farm. Tickets $45 and available through Simpletix.
