Celebration of local food has grown
Good things grow in our corner of Ontario, including interest in Lambton County’s Annual Food Day Canada Farm Dinner.
The county’s third annual dinner, promoting locally grown and raised food, is set for Aug. 2, at Twin Pines Orchard and Cider House near Thedford. Tickets go on sale July 16.
“It’s an event that has certainly grown and exceeded our expectations,” said Tracy Ranick, with the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation.
“I think that the tickets will go quickly.”
The first dinner held in 2012 attracted 80 people to Smith Homestead Farm in St. Clair Township. It was organized in just a few weeks as part of a food writer’s visit to the county, and sold out quickly.
Last year’s dinner held at the Forest Glen Herb Farm was an “instant sellout” that attracted “rave reviews,” Ranick said.
Attendance was up 50% last year, and 150 tickets are available for this year’s event, up just slightly from 2013.
“We want to make it so it’s still very special for people to attend,” Ranick said.
“Twin Pines is really a unique venue, and they’ve been doing extremely well, in terms of their cider production.”
The family-run orchard recently won Best of Show at the Great Lakes international Cider and Perry Competition.
Food Day Canada is a celebration of farms, chefs and local food that involves dinners, barbecues and picnics held in communities across the country.
Ranick, at the business development corporation, has been working with local businesses and producers in recent years to promote interest in local food.
“It is something that seems to be catching on,” she said.
A recent Breakfast on the Farm event hosted by several Lambton groups drew 500 people, and plans are being made to expand it next year, Ranick said.
“We’re quite thrilled with how that was received.”
The musical duo Erika and Sara is scheduled to perform at this year’s Canada Food Day event, with dinner prepared by a team of chefs led by Dave Duguay, owner of the Blackwater Coffee and Tea Company in Sarnia.
The menu each year highlights local and seasonal food, Ranick said.
~Paul Morden~
The Sarnia Observer
If you go:
- What: Lambton County’s Third Annual Food Day Canada Farm Dinner.
- Where: Twin Pines Orchard and Cider House, 8169 Kennedy Line, Thedford.
- When: Aug. 2, 6 p.m.
- Details: A limited number of tickets, $65, go on sale July 16, 9 a.m., at the Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation, 109 Durand St., Sarnia, the Blackwater Coffee and Tea Company, 170 Christina St. N., or by calling 519-383-1371.
