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Artisanal Fare
CREATING CULINARY ART
» Thursday 9 October 2008 | 5 pm
» The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue
An informal afternoon hour showcasing people and ideas featured in Okanagan ARTS. Join us as Frank Dieter of Okanagan Spirits, Dale Zeich of Little Creek Gardens, and Perry Bentley, chef instructor at Okanagan College share their culinary enthusiasms.
» This is a free event. Refreshments will be available at a modest cost.
» Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE
Celebrating the Rich Flavours of Culinary Art
If author Malcolm Gladwell was a foodie and lived in the Okanagan, there's a good chance he would say this region is at the tipping point of becoming one of the biggest and brightest stars in the firmament of Canadian cuisine.
From award-winning restaurateurs to first-class purveyors of fine artisan food and drink, the Okanagan is virtually exploding with culinary riches. The challenge, of course, in this supermarket world of the 21st Century is to remind ourselves of the riches that are coming from the earth beneath our feet. And remind ourselves as well of the fine products that are produced from those riches.
On Thursday, October 9 at 5 pm at the Bohemian Café, the Okanagan Institute Express series of free public presentations examines the local food culture from the ground up with Artisanal Fare: Creating Culinary Art. Featured speakers are Frank Dieter of Okanagan Spirits, Dale Zeich of Little Creek Gardens, and Perry Bentley, chef instructor at Okanagan College.
 Frank Dieter, a forester by trade, returned to his homeland of Germany to study fermentation and distilling processes from Herbert Roesch, one of Germany's top distillers, and Italian grappa master Vittorio Capovilla. To add a touch of the Old World to his operations, he imported a traditional German wood-fired copper-pot still that is specifically designed to capture the fruit aromas.
Passionate about all the fruit this valley has to offer, Dieter produces a variety of fruit brandies. But recently he's been in the news for his efforts to get national distribution for Taboo his crafty name for the legendary absinthe he now produces as well.
 Dale Ziech is a board director with the North Okanagan Organic Association and co-owner of Little Creek Gardens, was among the first in the valley to "go organic" back in 1984 when traditional farmers scoffed at the idea. The farm became Certified Organic in 1991, and grows a variety of gourmet mixed greens, tomatoes, baby vegetables and edible flowers.
 Perry Bentley is a chef instructor at the Okanagan College culinary arts program. Born into a foodie household in a rural setting, where bread was baked each morning, the eggs collected and the goats milked, likely made his career inevitable. Bentley did his initial apprenticeship in cookery after studying hospitality business at technical college in the south of England and then completed his training in one of the large London hotels.
Perry lived in France and Australia before coming to Canada in the early '90's, he now specializes in bakery and pastry arts and has just returned to teaching after a year's sabbatical studying food and wine in Italy and Argentina.
"Canada has a fantastic food culture, it's a great place to be in the hospitality business and to teach Culinary arts, and the Okanagan is really going to be more and more of a food and wine destination".
Artisanal Fare: Creating Culinary Art is a free event, and takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 61th event the Okanagan Institute has held since the Express series got underway in July 2007. Since that time, the series has played host to many Okanagan luminaries, including former deputy secretary general of Amnesty International Derek Evans, artists Lee Claremont and Gary Pearson, BC Book Award nominee Don Gayton, CBC Literary prize winner poet Harold Rhenisch, distinguished editor and author Jim Taylor, poet and professor John Lent, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, architect Jim Meiklejohn, broadcaster Marion Barschel and others from a variety of creative fields.
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE
 The Okanagan Institute invites you to join us for ...
A Celebration of the Culinary Arts
At the Bohemian Café
Thursday 9 October 7-9pm
A Stimulating Evening of Entertainment,
Artisanal Food and Liquid Refreshments
Only 10 Seats Left. Reserve Yours Now.
This Thursday, October 9 at 7 pm at the Bohemian Café, the Okanagan Institute invites you to experience our wonderful local food culture from the ground up with Culinaria: A Celebration of the Culinary Arts. The event has attracted the support and participation of dozens of local artisans - purveyors of locally crafted beverages and cheeses, organic produce, and succulent meats.
 Culinaria features a five-course dinner artfully put together by chef Hans Birker of the Bohemian. Throughout the meal, host Karin Wilson provides a verbal guide through the valley."This event isn't only about filling our stomachs, it's also about filling our minds with knowledge about the depth and breadth of food produced in this valley," she says.
Performing at the dinner will be local vocalist Barbara Samuel, a professional voice instructor and lead vocalist for the local band, Cista B and the Boyz. As a soloist she sings a wide variety of classics, from Jazz standards to the latest hits. She'll be accompanied by Neal Klassen.
The producers who generously supported this event include: Carmelis Goat Cheese Artisan, Cherry Hill Coffee, Elephant Island Wines, Falcon Ridge Farms, Gellatly Nut Farm, The Jammery, Little Creek Gardens and Dressing, Maggadean Farm, Nuttier than a Fruit Cake, Okanagan Grocery Artisan Breads, Okanagan Spirits, Okanagan Game Meats, Poplar Grove Cheese, Raven Ridge Cidery, Vale Farms, and Vinegar Works.
Tickets for this fundraising event benefitting the Kelowna Food Bank are $50 plus $2.50 GST. Seating is limited to 50, of which there are only 10 left, so we suggest reserving as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
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Where Enquiring Minds Gather. Okanagan Institute at the Bohemian Café A hearty feast of lectures, presentations, workshops and showcases celebrating our culture and community. Produced by the Okanagan Institute in association with Wheat King Publishing magazines: Okanagan Arts and Okanagan Home. Express is sponsored in part by the Arts Council of the Central Okanagan, Wood Lake Publishing, UBCO-FCCS, and in support of Project Literacy Kelowna.
The Okanagan Institute is a group of creative professionals that have gathered around the goal of providing events, publications and services of interest to enquiring minds in the Okanagan. We partner with individuals, organizations, institutions and businesses to achieve optimal creative and social impact.
Our mission is to ignite cultural transformation, catalyze collaborative action, build networks and foster sustainable creative enterprises. We invite the participation by all members of the creative community.
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