Article Contributed on: 3/19/2009 5:03:18 PM
Award Winning Native American chefs partner with The Culinary Trust to raise funds for the preservation of Endangered Treasures
Denver, CO - The International Association of Culinary professionals (IACP) will hold its annual conference in Denver (April 1-4) for the first time.
During conference The Culinary Trust, a 501 c 3 non-profit organization and philanthropic partner of IACP, will be hosting two fund raising events and a workshop open to the public. The Trust fulfills its mission through scholarships, grants, workshops and preservation programs, such as Endangered Treasures, preserving rare cookbooks, and our culinary heritage. Some of the funds raised from these two culinary events will include a grant to the Denver University's Penrose Library and a scholarship for a Native American culinary student to be awarded a scholarship to the Native American Program at the Classic Cooking academy in Phoenix.
In addition to events and workshop, each year The Culinary Trust makes a Richard Sax Memorial Hunger Relief grant to a local organization in the host city. This year's recipient will be the Food Bank of the Rockies.
Celebrate Culinary Treasures
Wednesday, April 1, area residents with an interest in culinary history can attend a lecture and reception at the University of Denver to celebrate the Penrose Library's collection of 12,000 cookbooks- one of the three largest cookery collections in the world. This collection is particularly strong in American regional cookery and standard American cookery texts from the last 200 years. The program will include cookbook author Anne Willan, founder of the prestigious La Varenne Cooking School, and IACP member and culinary historian, Andrew F. Smith.
Immediately following the reception, The Culinary Trust will host a special private lunch in the nearby home of Holly Arnold Kinney, owner of The Fort restaurant and the daughter of the late Sam Arnold, the winner of the IACP Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Guests will have the opportunity to tour Holly's contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright inspired "Prairie" home, which is filled with Native American, New Mexican and early 19th century art and antiques, as well as see her father's rare cookbook and western history library.
Participating in the lunch will be Anne Willan and guest Chef Walter Whitewater (Diné), Executive Chef of the Red Earth Catering company in Santa Fe and co-author of the award winning cookbook, Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations by Lois Ellen Frank.
Lunch will be featuring Red Mesa Cuisine, a menu of corn soup with home baked blue corn cob bread, baby mixed greens with New Mexico Organic goat cheese, chile spiced pecans; Sage stuffed quail served with squawberry sauce, chefs julienned vegetables, home style mashed potatoes, and for dessert, a chocolate pinon torte with local peach honey, homemade prickly pear syrup and wild harvested Tohonno O'odham Saguaro Syrup.
The cost of the lecture alone is $40.00; with the private lunch the cost is $300.00. the lunch is limited to 30 guests. The lecture begins at 10:30 a.m. with lunch immediately following at 12 noon.
A Magical Culinary Evening at the Legendary Fort?The next evening, Thursday, April 2, area food lovers can take a historic journey across the old and new foods of the Great West to benefit The Culinary Trust and a scholarship for a Native American culinary student to attend the Native American Program at the Classic Cooking Academy during a fun-filled evening of music, eating and learning at The Fort Restaurant, a replica of 19th century Bent's Fort nestled in the red rocks just outside of Denver. ??
Guests start with a signature Hailstorm drink and sample a buffet of Native American foods prepared by Guest Chef Bertina Cadman (Diné Tribe) along with many Fort specialties prepared by Fort Executive Chef Trevor Dierolf such as buffalo prime rib, elk, quail, bison sausage wrapped quail eggs, three sacred sisters vegetarian tamale pie, Rocky Mountain Oysters Rockefeller, and homemade desserts. Bid on culinary adventures, foods, rare cookbooks, Native American jewelry, art and music in a silent auction to benefit the Trust.??
The evening will also feature a tribute to the late Sam Arnold, founder of The Fort, host of PBS's Frying Pans West, author of numerous cookbooks and IACP Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 2005. IACP member and owner of The Fort Holly Arnold Kinney will share research on food from the period of the Fort and how that is reflected in their menu today. ?Tickets for this event are $165.00 per person. Transportation will be provided; buses depart the Sheraton Hotel in Denver between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m. and return following the event at 9:30 p.m.
Sustainable Sourcing Workshop?On Saturday, April 4, The Culinary Trust will hold its first educational program: Sourcing Sustainably. It is open to local culinary professionals as well as IACP members and will be hosted by chef, restaurateur and non- profit founder Michel Nischan (www.michelnischan.com) who will talk about the importance of local and sustainable farming of produce, meat and fish. Many culinary professionals want to purchase local and organic ingredients but often do not know where or how to begin. Following the session participants will break out in groups based on the size and scope of their purchasing needs.
??The program is part of The Culinary Trust's mission to give culinary professionals the tools and opportunities to understand and act on critical issues in the world of food. Sustainability is a focal point of current efforts. Cost to participants is $25.00.?To purchase tickets to either event or register for the workshop, please email conferenceevent@theculinarytrust.com. People can also register on-site at the Sheraton Hotel during the Conference April 1-4