Whole Foods Farm-to-Table Dinner

On October 18th, Andy and I were invited to preview the new Whole Foods Market in Davis and to a Farm-to-Table Dinner put on by Whole Foods featuring the suppliers and farmers of products that were to be sold in the new store.

We appreciated the dinner so much that we felt it deserved it’s own entry here on cavegrrl.com. The dinner probably could have been a ticketed event and sold to the general public for $125 each or maybe more. It was extremely special to be seated by our new friends, The Diestels. Their turkey went into one of the SEVEN courses I will describe below.

Also, this dinner wasn’t entirely Paleo, or even Primal, sometimes Andy and I have to just take one for the team. 😉 We stayed away from the wheat of course, but I am sure there was sugar involved in some of the courses. The main thing is that the ingredients were organic, clean, and that the farmers and suppliers themselves were eating with us. That translates to me that they all believe in their own products.

The evening’s dinner began with a salmon on crostini and Lava Cap’s 2010 Sauvignon Blanc. I pretty much stuck with this wine the whole night because it was a more style style of Sauvignon Blanc (less grapefruit) that I really loved.

First Course
The first course was the K & B Seafood Trio: Steamed clams and mussels in a white wine sauce with chorizo. IT was served with oyster on the half shell, Oyster Rockefeller, and Woods Fishery shrimp cocktail. We had been hosted the previous evening for happy hour at a high end restaurant and were served shrimp cocktail, and I have to say it paled in comparison to the K & B variety.

About K & B from their website:
K & B Seafood was founded in 1992 on Long Island in New York State, U.S.A. Ideally situated to deliver fresh seafood around the world, we receive fresh product directly from local baymen and fishermen, as well as from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Located close to the Fulton Fish Market and JFK International airport, we are able to deliver fresh and frozen seafood within hours by refrigerated truck or air carrier. Local, domestic, and international customers are served the finest seafood on time.

K & B Seafood is a licensed Shucker and Packer on the USFDA Interstate Shellfish Shippers list, a USDC Approved Fisheries Establishment, an approved EU (European Union) Seafood Shipper, and is licensed by the Russian Veterinary Service Rosselkhoznadzor to export fish and seafood to the Russian Federation.

Second Course
The second course was a Riverdog Farms Butternut Squash Soup topped with blue cheese crème fraiche. I had only a few bites because I was pacing myself for the other courses to come, but it was creamy, satisfying, and made splendid use of the ingredients.

About Riverdog Farms from their website:
Our farm is certified by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and is located in the beautiful Capay Valley where rich creek-bottom soil, intense summer heat and winter frost make exceptionally tasty fruits and vegetables.
Partners Tim Mueller and Trini Campbell, along with their daughter and 50 full time employees, keep the farm going year-round. The seasonal, organic produce is available through Riverdog Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture Program (weekly veggie box deliveries to neighborhoods), wholesale distributors, select retail markets, and at all Berkeley Farmers’ Markets.

From our fields to your table, Riverdog Farm’s CSA program offers freshly harvested produce, every week, all year round to delivery locations in the Bay Area, Davis, and Sacramento.

Third Course
Our third course was a Santa Barbara Smokehouse Smoked Salmon Salad with argula, pickled red onions, fried capers and horseradish crème fraiche drizzle. Mmmm salmon.

About Santa Barbara Smokehouse:
Santa Barbara Smokehouse-maker of Cambridge House Smoked Salmon, which the New York Times has called “the best smoked salmon in the world”-is located in downtown Santa Barbara. Many major hotels such as the Bellagio and the Wynn, as well as cruise ships and restaurants, order exclusively from the Santa Barbara Smokehouse and the company boasts of accolades from Martha Stewart and Emeril Lagasse, among others.

At this point I tasted the other wine of the evening, The Andis Mouvedre (2010, Amador County).

Fourth Course
For the fourth course, we were served a Pozzi Lamb Chop, with a root vegetable puree and salsa verde. Yes, yes, and yes. This was the only true Paleo course! Pretty sure the puree was a parsnip and turnip duo. The chop was perfectly medium rare. In my opinion, this course did the most justice to the ingredients.

About Pozzi from their website:
Pozzi Ranch is located on the quiet hills overlooking the town of Bodega, in Sonoma County, California. For over 40 years, Joe Pozzi has raised natural, grass-fed lambs and cattle on the pastures of Pozzi Ranch and other grasslands throughout Sonoma and Marin County.

Fifth Course
The fifth course was a mini Pot Pie featuring Diestel Ranch turkey. You may have read about the Diestel Ranch last week right here on cavegrrl.com! 🙂 Unfortunately, my favorite ingredient was covered in pastry! Still, I managed to scrape off most of the crust and enjoy the filling, pretty traditional to a chicken pot pie, and studded with Diestel‘s delicious turkey breast.

About the Diestel Family Turkey Ranch from their website:
In 1949, using the knowledge gained from working on his Uncle Ernest’s ranch, my dad, Jack Diestel, began his own turkey ranch in Sonora. Today our family continues Uncle Ernest’s and Grandpa Jack’s tradition of naturally growing range turkeys on the family ranch using the same secrets to deliver the best tasting turkey directly from us to you.

– The Diestel Family

Sixth Course
The sixth course was a Panorama Grass-fed Beef Short Rib served with Community Grains creamy polenta. OK! So this was my second favorite course and I DID have some of the polenta. It was such a nice treat. The meat was tender and falling off the rib. I could tell it was cooked for a very long time on a low temperature.

Dessert
Dessert was a slice of Chocolate Decadence Cake (made at Whole Foods) served with Temple Coffee. I passed on dessert in favor of another glass of Lava Cap Sauvignon Blanc. 🙂

Andy and I would like to thank Whole Foods for the invitation to the opening and dinner. It was an exciting and memorable evening for all.

Special thanks to Andy for taking some of the food courses. I took a few on my iPhone. I apologize for lighting, as dinner was served outside and it was hard to fight the lack of light once the sun set.

Whole Foods is now open to the public as of today, October 24th. For more information, you can visit their website here.