Cookin' Good! Food Demos & Tastings at the Celebration.

Do you know that The Hudson Valley has some of the best chefs in the country, living and working right here among us? Well, yes, it does and we do! From our own Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park) trained professionals to the self-taught and from-somewhere-else transplants, our Valley has more than its fair share of culinary talent.

And if you come to the Hudson Valley 40th Anniversary Earth Day Celebration, you can meet, greet and see what some of those amazing chefs make to eat, right in Building E's demonstration kitchen! Plus, you get to taste what they make, and take notes and recipe copies home with you. This is a folks-DO-try-this-at-home event!!

Now me? I LOVE to cook. I find it fun, relaxing--my personal zen experience, every time.
But even if you're all thumbs in the kitchen, these chefs will help you become a person who can grow and make incredible edibles, right in your own home. From simple salads to the more complex, they'll show you how, and why vegetarian, local, vegan and organic ingredients and cooking can (and should) become second nature for you.

Just check out this schedule of demos!!

Organic/Vegetarian/Vegan Cooking Demonstrations & Tastings

Saturday:

10:30 am – How to Make a Simple Fresh Salad with Local Organic Produce with Executive Chef Dale Andrews, The Rhinecliff. Tricks to make a simple salad taste great, and what to look for in fresh produce. (www.therhinecliff.com)

Noon – Gigi Hudson Valley Farm to Fork: Hudson Valley Mediterranean with Chef/Author Laura Pensiero. Followed by book signing, Hudson Valley Mediterranean. (www.gigitrattoria.com)

1:30 pm – Healthy Eating Made Easy with Chef Joe Baldwin, Earth to Table. Learn how to grow nutritious food for optimal health in your own garden, or in pots on your patio! (www.earthtotable.ag)

Sunday:

10:30 am – Herb Drying: Making Herb Blends to Use In Cooking with the experts at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dutchess County (www.ccedutchess.org)

Noon – Freezing Your Summer Harvest, with the experts at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dutchess County (www.ccedutchess.org)

1:30 pm – Making Herb Blends to Use In Cooking, with the experts at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Dutchess County (www.ccedutchess.org)

3:00 pm – Vegan Tacos with Certified Vegan Chef Kevin Archer, who runs the Compassionate Cuisine program at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary – the only sanctuary in the US to offer a vegan cooking program, an alternative to meat-based cuisine. Learn how to make easy, tasty vegan tacos for your family or a crowd. (www.casanctuary.org)

Watch, learn and eat!!

And don't forget to shop the Farmers Market right there in Building E, from some of our best, local Hudson Valley Farms! They'll have a lot of the ingredients you need to make the recipes you've just learned.

Bon Appetit (thank you, Julia!)