ROADSIDE
58 W E S T W O R L D A L B E R T A | F A L L 2 0 1 5 sebastian buzzalino
On the Menu
"How y'all doing tonight?" asked Julie Van Rosendaal,
the host of the first A Seat at Our Table long-table dinner held in
Calgary on the rooftop of Charbar. A jovial cheer rose up from the
100 dinner guests brought together by ATB.
e excitement in the air was infectious. Four weeks prior in June
and May, the food blogger slash cookbook author was on a whirlwind
road trip, touring Alberta farms and kitchens. rough social media,
Albertans followed Van Rosendaal's behind-the-scene tweets. Iconic
long horn cattle grazed at 7K Panorama Ranch in Okotoks. Pampered
pigs feasted on hazelnuts at 4K Farm in Acme. Refreshing cocktails
were mixed at the Eau Claire Distillery tasting room in Turner Valley.
With every post, people wanted to know more about the farmers and
producers, 30 in all, across Alberta to be showcased by summer's end.
Each course was a collaboration between chef and producer and a
tale of entrepreneurialism and innovation. Chef Winfield prepared
asparagus from Edgar Farms, an Innisfail-based family farm owned
and operated by Elna and Doug Edgar, who invented an asparagus-
picking buggy. Duncan Ly of Raw Bar presented a rhubarb and rain-
bow hot and sour soup, one of those genius dishes that made you
wonder why you hadn't ever seen it before on any menu.
In between courses, stories were abound that you wouldn't have
otherwise heard before. Did you know Alberta is the only place in
Canada where you can earn a BFA in glass blowing? Who knew that
different regions in Alberta have a distinct terroir that affects the taste
of the grain grown there? Sharing inspiring stories was exactly the
premise behind A Seat at Our Table. Bring a bunch of entrepreneurs,
visionaries, creative-types, producers and culinary luminaires together
and you never know what stories and ideas will emerge around the
dinner table. Join the conversation at Facebook.com/aseatatourtable and
Twitter.com/aseatatourtable. W
Enter for a chance to
win one of four tickets
to A Seat at Our Table.
ama.ab.ca/
ASeatatOurTable
