Tennessee Flavors is a new event to benefit the culinary program at Nashville State Community College.
Happening March 8, Thursday, from 5-8 pm in the NSCC student services center on the White Bridge Road campus.
Our focus for this event will be Tennessee-sourced products and people, and we are especially happy to host as our guest of honor, Allan Benton, of Madisonville, Tenn., whose Benton’s bacon and other pork products you undoubtedly know.
For ticket info, go to http://www.tnflavors.org/buytickets.
Are you a farmer? Backyard gardener? Interesting in having chickens or bees?
Want to know how to grow your own food? Wondering what’s happening
on Tennessee’s local food scene?
Nashville, TN – Tennessee’s Organic Growers Association (TOGA) hosts their 8th Annual Conference on Friday, March 23rd and Saturday, March 24th. Returning to The Lakeshore Christian Church, 5434 Bell Forge Lane East, Antioch, this yearly event features two days of educational workshops, speakers and farm tours.
The conference begins on Friday with an afternoon touring local farms all practicing organic and sustainable methods. The tours offer fellow farmers and growing enthusiasts a personal look inside farm operations and an opportunity to talk directly to farmers about their successes, hurdles and opportunities. Bus transportation and lunch provided by The Turnip Truck Natural Market for tour attendees.
New this year is the addition of a film screening. “What’s Organic about Organic?” will be shown Friday evening at 6:30 PM at the Nashville Farmers Market, 900 Rosa Park Blvd. N. and will be open to both conference attendees and the general public for an additional fee. Wine and horsd’oeuvres of local food will be available.
A full day of workshops starts on Saturday at 9AM. Professional farmers, hobby farmers, backyard gardeners and local food enthusiasts alike will find sessions that fit their skill level and areas of interest. Topics range from urban farming, herbs, organic fruit and vegetable production, beekeeping, backyard chickens, goats, composting, local food systems and more. A light breakfast will be provided by Nashville Farmers’ Market Grow Local Kitchen along with coffee from Roast Inc. Lunch will be provided by Whole Foods Cool Springs and prepared by Chef Michael Martin.
This year’s Keynote Speaker is renowned urban farmer, author and photographer Michael Ableman (On Good Land, Fields of Plenty, and From the Good Earth). Sign up for our e-letter at www.tnorganics.org to get the latest news and information on speakers, session topics, & more.
For more information on the conference or to register for the event online, visit the TOGA web site at www.tnorganics.org.
WCTE-TV/PBS has invited high school and G.E.D. students and their teachers throughout the Upper Cumberland to create a one-minute Public Service Announcement in WCTE’s American Graduate Student Video Contest. The message of the student PSA’s is simple – stay in school.
The contest is based on an initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Called “American Graduate: Let’s Make It Happen,” the initiative is designed to help local communities across the country address the high school dropout crisis.
WCTE is producing a documentary that addresses the high school dropout crisis in Tennessee called “American Graduate: the Tennessee Story. As part of the PBS station’s effort to engage the students of the Upper Cumberland, and to drive home the message of “stay in school,” WCTE decided to hold a student video contest.
“If only one student’s life is changed for the better by our efforts, if only one student sees the light and stays in school, it will all have been worthwhile,” said Becky Magura, President and CEO of WCTE.
The WCTE American Graduate Student Video Contest is restricted to students in high school and G.E.D. programs in the 14 counties of the Upper Cumberland and student teams must have a teacher sponsor who will oversee the project. Student PSAs will be screened and if selected, uploaded to WCTE’s YouTube Channel. The winning entries, determined by a panel of judges, will be featured in WCTE’s Close-Up Magazine, the WCTE website and possibly on-air. There are also cash prizes.
Teacher sponsors must submit their intent to participate to hharder@wcte.org by Monday, February 20, and all videos must be submitted by flash drive to the station by March 19, 2012. Winners will be notified at the end of March.
For details of the contest, please visit wcte.org/graduate.
Earning certification to prepare, manufacture and sell certain foods from a home kitchen is now more convenient for Tennesseans thanks to a new online training module from University of Tennessee Extension.
Domestic Kitchen Food Safety Training, which launched Wednesday, Feb. 1, provides instruction centered around the state’s Domestic Kitchen Rule. The rule allows people to commercially prepare, manufacture and sell non-potentially hazardous foods in the home while ensuring the public’s health is protected.
Examples of non-potentially hazardous foods include jams, jellies, candies and certain baked goods.
UT’s Office of Information Technology has transformed the course from a traditional classroom format to the new online version. For those who prefer face-to-face training, the course will continue to be taught in a traditional classroom setting several times per year.
Participants who successfully complete the program earn certification from the University of Tennessee Food Science and Technology Extension program. Certification is the first step toward meeting requirements to manufacture non-potentially hazardous foods in a domestic kitchen.
Foods are considered non-potentially hazardous if they do not consist mainly of meat, poultry, liquid eggs, partially cooked egg products, fish, milk and milk products, shellfish, partially cooked bakery products, or other ingredients susceptible to the rapid growth of microorganisms when stored out of recommended temperature ranges for cold or hot foods.
Other prohibited foods include low-acid canned vegetables and acidified foods such as salsa or pickled vegetables.
Individuals interested in forming a catering business (made-to-order birthday cakes, wedding cakes, etc.) are not required to take the course and should contact a local health department for information regarding regulations.
In addition, individuals with an inside pet of any kind will not qualify as a food manufacturer under the Domestic Kitchen Rule.
Tennessee residents seeking the online certification should visit the UT Extension Online Learning website at http://tiny.utk.edu/kitchencert beginning Feb. 1. The course fee is $75, which is payable online. First-time site users must create an account.
For more information, contact Nancy Austin in the Department of Food Science and Technology at 865-974-7717 or naustin@utk.edu.
The city’s first ever Food Trolley will serve family recipes from Puckett’s Gro. & Restaurant. The award-winning restaurant is planning a full day of festivities celebrating the new trolley in early March.
Created by owner Andy Marshall, along with the help of managers Max Stephenson and
J.T. Ward, the trolley will offer a wide range of delicious made-to-order menu items from breakfast to lunch and dinner. It will cater to Middle Tennessee’s most popular festivals and events, and will also be available to rent for special occasions.
Regular menu items will include Puckett’s famous cherry wood smoked pork and chicken, burgers, fried catfish, sweet potato fries, baked beans, coleslaw, and assorted cobblers as well as other signature menu items such as the redneck burrito, brisket chimichanga and catfish tacos. The menu will be customizable for special events.
Marshall found the historic trolley in late 2011 and is currently having it converted to a food service truck.
Grand opening festivities and first locations for customers will be unveiled in the coming
weeks. Details on its location, as well as for more information on featured specials, will
be found on Twitter, @PuckettsTrolley and on Facebook,
www.facebook.com/puckettstrolley.
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