UPCOMING MADERA SLOW FOOD EVENT
Fig Fest
August 8, 2009,
9:00 am - Noon
at the California Fresno State University Campus
FIG FEST 2009 – CELEBRATING A VALLEY TREASURE
Fig Festival Showcases
Edible Extravaganzas, Gourmet Chefs, Live Music and More
FRESNO, CA (June 29, 2009) -- California Figs take center stage at Fig Fest 2009, the culinary extravaganza presented annually to pay homage to this great “Valley Treasure.” Scheduled for Saturday, August 8, 2009, from 9:00 AM until Noon on the picturesque lawns of Fresno State University, the 6th Annual Fig Fest features fig-inspired dishes created by some of the area’s premier chefs and artisan food companies, live music, kid’s-oriented educational activities and much more.
Baked, roasted, marinated, stuffed, dipped, and wrapped – these are just some of the fig tastes consumers expect to sample at the 6th Annual Fig Fest. A souvenir colored Recipe Booklet filled with many sweet and savory fig recipes continues the enjoyment of these sun-drenched treasures throughout the year for all the guests.
The 2008 event drew nearly 1,000 guests from all across the country who noshed on culinary creations from such popular eateries as Bistro Rustico, Campagnia, Cracked Pepper Bistro, Doug Out Cookies, GiGi’s , Love & Garlic, Max’s Bistro & Bar, Palomino’s, Slates, The Chef’s Table, The Vineyard Restaurant, The Vintage Press, and Trelio Restaurant among others. Last year’s guests voted The Girl and The Fig’s “Warm Fig and Walnut Crisp” Best of Show. Other top vote getters in the annual Favorite Recipe Contest included Trelio’s “Grilled Tiger Fig with Smoked Duck” by Chef Mike Shackelford and “Fig Fingers” by Chef Malachi Harland from The Chef’s Table.
Fig Fest 2009 takes place on Fresno State’s Ag East Lawn between the Ag Science Building and Satellite Student Union, near the corner of Barstow and Maple Avenues. Tickets are available by contacting the California Fig Advisory Board office at 559-243-8600. They are $10.00 in advance or $12.00 at the gate. Children under the age of 12 are free. Parking is also free. Event proceeds will benefit Fresno State Ag One Foundation, Slow Food Madera, and the Bulldog Pantry, a non-profit food bank serving the community since 2007.
The Annual Fig Feast Dinner on Saturday evening features a four course fig extravaganza and wine pairing created by celebrated Chef Vatche Moukhtarian from the Cracked Pepper Bistro. Figs, one of the area’s finest delicacies, are in peak season in early August. Succulent and sweet, fresh California figs are plentiful until mid-December and dried figs enjoy year round availability. Brown Turkey and Black Mission Figs, with their robust sweet flavor, are first to market and are available until late fall. Amber-colored, delicately sweet Kadota figs are abundant through October, while fresh Calimyrnas, known for their pale yellow skin and nutty, sweet flavor, are available from July through September. Dried figs are available year round.
A recognized powerhouse of nutrition, figs have provided sustenance for as long as there has been dietary history. As early as 2900 BC, in early Sumerian times, the medicinal use of figs was stressed. Today, best known for their fiber content, figs also contain more calcium, more potassium, and more iron than other common fruits. Fresh figs also contain important antioxidants.
For an edible extravaganza, don’t miss Fig Fest and Fig Feast 2009. Visit www.californiafigs.com for more information.
Our Mission
We are a group of Maderans and others who appreciate vibrant local foods and wines and their enjoyment in good company. Our primary interest is in promoting farmers, chefs, vintners, cheese makers, bakers among others in our community and region who are artisans of unique quality foods of distinction. Foods of industrial origin predominate here, on the world’s most productive farm land, enjoying the “Mediterranean” climate that has spanned the great food cultures of Europe. We intend, through our efforts to foster an authentic regional food culture worthy of the gifts nature has bestowed on our San Joaquin Valley. We have created events such as the Fig Fest, Tomato’s Big Night, Home on the Range and Muscat Love to offer the enjoyment of this emerging food culture to the public. This site will be ground zero for information on our public events and others which showcase local food artisans. We invite your membership and participation.
Slow Food Madera is an affiliate of Slow Food USA® and Slow Food International. Slow Food was founded in Italy (circa 1985), by Carlo Petrini, in reaction to an American fast food invasion which threatened to upend the centuries-old food culture of his nation. It has since grown into a world wide effort and claims over 60,000 members in dozens of countries. Unlike Italy, here in the US, we have a food culture to create rather than protect. We believe agriculture and our valley’s people will be best served by an economy that emphasizes quality over quantity. Artisan entrepreneurs are busy building this new food culture, it is exciting. We invite your enjoyment, enthusiasm and financial support of these local gastronomic pioneers.
