| Mario Loves Farmland!
"Leelanau County’s farmland feeds me and my family in a number of ways. We love the incomparable taste of just-picked local fruit and vegetables that we enjoy all summer long," says Mario. "We like meeting the people who grow and produce the things that we eat. And we love the landscapes from which this food comes. The rolling orchards, farm fields and weathered barns are some of the things we treasure most about this place. Protecting Leelanau County’s farmland and its farming way of life is very important to me. I have been to enough places in the world to know that once farms are gone, they are gone forever. That is why I believe in eating local foods, and why I support the Leelanau Conservancy’s efforts to protect farmland. This year, I will direct the auction proceeds from my dinner to the Conservancy’s innovative new farmland protection program, so that long after we’re gone, people will still be sitting around the table eating the great food that comes from Leelanau’s globally rare land and microclimate.”
| | About The 2010 Dinner... What an opportunity! If you and your friends love great food and want to rub elbows with one of the world’s finest chefs, this event is for you. In late August, 12 lucky people will join Mario Batali for an afternoon of hands-on cooking, wine tasting and enjoying a Sunday Supper using some of the finest ingredients available in Leelanau. “I’m building my menu around what’s freshest and in-season—it’s the only way to go,” says Mario. “I can’t say exactly what will be on the table—that’s up to Mother Nature—but I can promise you it will be delicious and a lot of fun. With my kitchen partners from Epicure Catering, we’ll be in touch with local farmers and specialty producers to procure the best that’s out there.”
“After the dinner, we’ll post the recipes on the Conservancy’s website and tell you where we got the ingredients. I hope you’ll make the same meal, and when you do, you’ll be supporting your local farmers,” adds Mario.
The event will take place in the Epicure Catering kitchen at Cherry Basket Farm in Omena. Guests will arrive to taste wines from Leelanau’s fabulous Mawby Vineyards and the best of southern Italy along with some hand-made salumi from Mario’s Babbo ristorante in NYC. Guests will then participate in the creation of the meal that will showcase Leelanau’s bounty.
What’s for dinner? As Mario says, it will depend on what's freshest, but here are his initial thoughts: “Falanghina with peaches and pizzette to start, cool insalata caprese with fresh buffalo mozzarella and local heirloom tomatoes, fettuccine with tiny meatballs , special Pork Arista from northern Michigan, cherries, apricots and the bounty of the Leelanau Peninsula married to the delightful sentiment that is Neapolitan cooking at its most divine starting at 4 in the afternoon and going until the royal Amalfitano mindset is achieved,” says Mario, who splits time between New York City and Leelanau County with his wife and their two sons.
“Leelanau is an incredibly beautiful, unique place that I hope will retain its character and natural treasures,” concludes Mario. “What you have here is invaluable and I am delighted to help the Leelanau Conservancy in its efforts to protect it.” Batali was named “Chef of the Year” in 2005 and “Restaurateur of the Year” in 2008 by the James Beard Foundation." | | |
