Revival Kitchen lives up to the hype and takes the Golden Basket Award

Over the past year or so, I’ve noticed a steady building of buzz about a restaurant down in the Amish country of Reedsville. Revival Kitchen, a farm-to-table spot over the ridge down 322 from State College, has steadily built a reputation as a go-to location for excellent, creative food made from local ingredients.

And all that growing chit-chat about a small restaurant that is a must-try was backed up at yesterday’s Golden Basket Awards, as first-timer Quintin Wicks of Revival Kitchen took the top prize at the event held at the Boalsburg Farmers Market. As a four-time judge of this six-year-old showcase of both local food and local chefs, I can attest that his win was during one of the toughest years for judging this contest, as all of the dishes were first-rate.

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Tags: GoldenBasketAwards | BoalsburgFarmersMarket |

6th Annual Golden Basket Chef Competition at Boalsburg Farmers’ Market

Local chefs from Central Pennsylvania’s finest dining establishments will compete for the Boalsburg Farmers Market Sixth Annual Golden Basket Award on Tuesday, Aug. 2 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This event is held by the Boalsburg Farmers’ Market and is part of PASA’s (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture) “Local Foods Week.” The event features chefs preparing several dishes from ingredients produced by Boalsburg Farmers’ Market vendors. 

The chefs gather their ingredients at the market, then prepare their plates for submission to the judges in front of market guests. The chefs have only 45 minutes to assemble the dishes. After the judges have tasted and scored all of the chef’s offerings, an awards ceremony is held to announce the new Golden Basket winner. While the chefs are preparing, market-goers can watch them work and enjoy free samples.

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Tags: GoldenBasketAwards | BoalsburgFarmersMarket |

PASA Announces Sustainable Agriculture Leadership Awards to be Presented at Conference

Jeff Moyer, Executive Director of Rodale Institute (Kutztown, PA), and Poultry Man, LLC (Mifflinburg, PA) are being honored as leaders in sustainability by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). The awards will be presented during PASA’s 25th Annual Farming for the Future Conference, February 3 to 6 at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College, Pennsylvania.

“It is an honor to be receiving this award. I look forward to being included with the past recipients, a prestigious group,” says Moyer, recipient of the Sustainable Ag Leadership Award. Moyer is renowned for his expertise in organic crop production systems and has worked with the Rodale Institute for four decades. “The most rewarding part of my work as past farm director and now executive director,” says Moyer, “is working with farmers to transition their farm to organic and being a part of their success.” His dream for the future of agriculture is one where “everyone sees the connection between the soil we farm and the health of our population. Healthy soil is the cornerstone to a healthy, well-fed human population worldwide.”

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Nine Local Chefs to Compete for Boalsburg Farmers Market Golden Basket Award

Nine of the best local chefs from Central Pennsylvania’s finest restaurants will compete for the Boalsburg Farmers Market Fourth Annual Golden Basket Award on Tuesday, Aug. 5, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Part of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)‘s “Local Foods Week,” the event will feature the chefs preparing a main dish and two sides from ingredients produced by Boalsburg Farmers Market vendors.

This will be the largest judged competition among chefs in the State College Area, and it has been described “as the culinary Olympics of Centre County.” The chefs will gather their ingredients at the start of market, then prepare their plates for submission to the judges in front of market guests.

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Tags: GoldenBasketAward | LocalFoodsWeek | BoalsburgFarmersMarket |

Tough job but someone has to do it: being a local food judge

I recently was asked by the folks at the Boalsburg Farmers Market to serve as a judge for the Market’s Golden Basket Awards, an annual event held as part of Local Foods Week here in Centre County. For those not familiar with the Golden Basket Awards, chefs from the local area compete for the prize by creating a full entree with ingredients found at the Boalsburg Farmers Market. Having to use local ingredients probably is the easy part of the contest. I mean, the chefs do their cooking in an area in the middle of the market and are surrounded by local meats, cheeses, eggs, dairy, sauces, and of course fresh produce. That’s a pretty formidable pantry.

So, I got to judge their end result. It was a challenge to be presented with creative and delicious dishes made by professional chefs and then eat them, but I persevered. Seriously, though, the food coma I was in by the end of the event really was a bit of a challenge, but it was a happy feeling.

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Tags: BoalsburgFarmersMarket | GoldenBasketAward |

Eight local chefs to compete for Boalsburg Farmers Market Golden Basket Award

Eight of the best local chefs from the area’s finest restaurants will compete for the Boalsburg Farmers Market Third Annual Golden Basket Award to be held from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Part of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s “Local Foods Week,” the event will feature the chefs preparing a main dish and two sides from ingredients produced by Boalsburg Farmers Market vendors. This will be the largest judged competition among chefs in the State College Area, and it has been described “as the culinary Olympics of Centre County.” The chefs will gather their ingredients at the start of market, then prepare their plates for submission to the judges in front of market goers.

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Tags: LocalFoodsWeek | GoldenBasketAward | chefs | |

Congratulations to Tait Farm

Last week Tait Farm’s Community Harvest won the Quality of Life Award at the CBICC Awards Gala. The award recognizes an individual or organization whose activities enhance the quality of life in Centre County. Tait Farm took home the award for its popular CSA and the relationship it fosters between the farmer and the consumer. Community Harvest provides a weekly supply of fresh, healthy, organic produce to subscribers and is committed to strengthening regional food systems.

Listen to an audio story recorded at Tait Farm last November, and view photos of the fresh produce available during that time of year.

And congratulations to Tait Farm!

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Tags: farm | award |