To quote the timeless wisdom of Kermit the Frog, “It’s not easy being green.” We’d add to that: It’s not easy to be consistently mindful of the importance of consuming local, organic, responsibly produced food and to support, in whatever ways possible, regional, sustainable food systems. (Kind of a mouthful for a Muppet, though.)
Fortunately — as was made clear recently at the 11th annual Good Food Festival and Conference — it’s getting easier. Organized by FamilyFarmed and held March 19-21 at UIC Forum, the local food trade show highlighted the many strides being made among Midwestern farmers, chefs, local businesses, lobbyists, policymakers, consumers and more.
“When the (festival and conference) began a decade ago, it catered mostly to industry people,” said one of the panelists at the “Grassroots Food Activism” discussion on Saturday. “Now there are five times more attendees, and a lot of people are showing up because they’re simply interested in learning more about our movement. That’s progress.”
Whereas the first two days of Good Food was geared toward tradespeople, Saturday’s festival was open to the general public and served up a full platter of interactive events: classes, panels, demos, food samples and more. Here are a few highlights:
Good to eat
One of the first things we did upon entering the exhibition hall was head to the Burton’s Maplewood Farm table for a maple syrup flight. Yes, we ate spoonful after spoonful of light/golden (grade A) and dark/rich (grade B) syrups — variously aged in bourbon, rum and rye barrels — for work. (Tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.) The family-owned business, based out of Medora, Ind., sells their product at Green City Market and to several Chicago-area restaurants — and with good reason. This stuff is delicious.
Over at the Butter Bella booth, we sampled one of the Chicago-based company’s handmade butter cookies. Then we swung by later and tried another. (Sorry, not sorry.) The whole concept behind these cookies is simplicity: pure butter, pure cane sugar, real vanilla and unbleached flour — the kind your mom makes, if your mom happens to make really great cookies. Some are dipped in chocolate or, in the case of the lemon cookies, mixed with lemon zest and juice. We will do our part to support the local cookie economy.
On the healthier end of the spectrum, Karma Kombucha, out of Mundelein, is another company that prizes simple ingredients. Owner Susan Fink took me through a flight of the various flavors, from smooth and subtle Pineapple Passion to the cacao- and chili pepper-spiked Xocolatl. “We emphasize the tea instead of adding flavors, extracts, or juice.” It’s currently for sale in Mariano’s and Whole Foods around the Midwest.
Good to know
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There’s a lot to love about lard. During his cooking demo, chef Paul Fehribach of Big Jones — who was named the 2015 Good Food Chef of the Year and is a self-described “culinary history geek” — touted the benefits of the pig fat. “Lard is very nutritious. It’s a lot of calories but if you’re going to be cooking something in fat, it’s the best choice,” he told the audience. “It doesn’t make any sense for us to ship in, say, palm oil from halfway around the world when we have so much lard available in the Midwest.”
Farmer’s Fridge wants to spread their greens across the nation. The Chicago business, which seeks to make slow food available fast, now has 15 kiosks around the city that dispense fresh salads, and told me that they’re hoping to expand nationally down the road.
The good food movement is no longer a seedling but still has plenty of growth to do. “We are a young movement but are moving forward bit by bit,” said one of the panelists at the Good Food Activism panel. “We need your help.”
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