The most degreed chefs per capita, great local farms, a vibrant arts scene, and Johnson & Wales U. - Providence was due for a Food & Wine Festival. It's on!
You've seen the Food Network Stars hobnobbing with top toques at Food & Wine Festivals like Aspen and South Beach. If you're in New England, get ready for a Food & Wine Festival that's not about the stars of the 30 minute meals or drunken chefs behaving badly. This one's all about us!
The Focus is Local
The Providence Food & Wine Festival focuses on consumers, the dining public, the local farmers and producers. Did you know Providence has the most degreed chefs per capita in the US? With really vital arts and culinary communities, creativity abounds.
it's not surprising the relationships between local growers and chefs is front and center. What is surprising is how quickly this event came together. I caught up with one of the organizers between emails, texts, meetings and calls between the planning committee. David Dadekian writes the wonderful blog, EatDrinkRI, he'll be leading a panel on Friday.
Who are the other founders of the Providence Food & Wine Festival?
Natalie Sowa is the producer and founder of the Festival along with Brendan Chipley Roane, Associate Producer (Brendan’s day job is Director of Events and Wine Director at Gracie’s restaurant in Providence) and myself. Also in the core group are Chef Mark Garofalo of Fire Works Catering and Stephanie Schechter our Graphic Designer.
What was the catalyst for starting it? How did the idea come together?
For the past couple of years Natalie Sowa ran a fundraiser called Savor Providence for the Trinity Repertory Company. It was a dine around the city with around 25 participating restaurants. As Natalie was preparing to ramp up production for the event this year, Trinity Rep decided they didn’t want to put the resources into it again. Natalie thought of producing Savor Providence for a different charity, but then thought, why not expand it into a three-day Festival of events. She asked a few of us to come onboard and we were off and running.
How do you explain the amazing concentration of culinary talent in Providence - is it just the presence of Johnson & Wales?
Johnson & Wales is certainly a big asset to have for producing great talent, though not all of our top chefs are J&W graduates, and many J&W grads are from around the country and return to their homes or other major cities after graduating. I think part of it stems from Providence having such a strong cultural and artistic community, RISD and Brown also play into that. That strong community is more interested in excellent culinary options allowing the great restaurants we have here to not only survive, but thrive, even in this economy.
It seems like “local” is a big theme here, was that a conscious choice?
Definitely. When we first met I liked the idea of this being a Festival about Providence and not a Festival taking place in Providence with a gaggle of food-related celebrities coming in for a couple of days and then leaving. There’s nothing wrong with those Festivals, I enjoy attending them, but we really wanted to showcase what makes Providence great, first. Then for me, because I’m such a big fan of our local food community, I had to think of ways to work local farmers and food producers into the Festival, so I immediately decided the three chef demos during the Grand Tasting should have farmers on stage with the chefs. Then we put together a couple of local food panels.
Did you look at the other big F&W festivals as models? Was there something you wanted to do differently with PFWF?
Yes and no. Obviously there’s going to be similarities because there’s only so much variation on a theme. I like to think we’re the only Festival geared toward the consumer and not the farm/restaurant/food industry doing as much with local farmers. Since this is our first year we’ll be seeing what works and going forward from there.
Things you hope to emulate?
The good festivals that I’ve attended managed to maintain a positive and exciting vibe without turning into a drink-fest. That part's not really in our hands, but hopefully we can capture that energy and excitement in Providence and everyone has a great time and good memories of the events.
How many attendees are you hoping to attract?
That’s a hard number to specify because we have different events at different price points so people can attend as much as they’re interested in. The parties aren’t huge galas, more intimate events at really fantastic locations. The Terrace at the Biltmore (opening party) looks out on the whole city and Tazza (closing) is newly redesigned with a beautiful bar. The panels can handle between 20-50 people depending on the location. For the Grand Tasting we’re hoping for several hundred attendees staggered throughout the four hours.
How can someone buy tickets?
You can buy a ticket for everything or select just what you’d like to attend, all online ordering. There will also be ticket sales available during the Festival. So if you come to the opening and decide you’d like to add a panel, no problem. Or, if you decide on Saturday morning you’d like to come to the Grand Tasting, great.
I notice that a couple of the events are charity events? What charities will benefit?
There is a dinner at Gracie’s to support the March of Dimes and a dinner at The Capital Grille to support Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy. Also, proceeds from the Dine Around on Saturday will benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. We simply wanted to have a charity aspect to the Festival as several of us already work with these charities and know how essential they are.
How many oysters will give their lives to this cause?
Believe it or not, while we do have an oyster farmer, Mark Boucher of Plum Point Oysters, on the Local Food panel, I resisted opportunities for the whole huge raw bar thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love oysters, but it just doesn’t seem that unique any more. Every event I go to there’s a shucker selling oysters and littlenecks, even a couple times a week at a Farmer’s Market (we have over 40 in RI). Plus, the best deal in oysters anywhere is New Rivers on a Tuesday night. $1 oysters alongside one of the greatest menus in the city. But come to the Grand Tasting for a whole demo on local seafood from Chef Ben Sukle and Wild Rhody, recently featured in the New York Times alongside another RI company Trace and Trust.
Thanks to David, and the whole planning crew, this festival looks like it really celebrates the local food community. Providence is an easy train ride from Boston, NY or a quick drive from CT and most of New England. I'll be there - come celebrate local food in Providence.
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