Autumn Banquet

HARVESTING THE BEST – PFI Autumn Banquet

Rick Hartmann

On Tuesday, October 30, 2001 at the Hotel Pattee in Perry, chefs, farmers and sustainable local food proponents gathered for Harvesting the Best from Iowa’s Farms and Chefs: An Autumn Banquet and Fundraiser. The purpose was to raise money for PFI’s service of providing freshly harvested fruits and vegetables and humanely raised meats for All-Iowa meals at hotels and conference centers in central Iowa. There are 27 members of the PFI Growers Network this year who supply farm products for the All-Iowa meal project.

The fundraiser brought together a diverse and appreciative audience of farmers, chefs, caterers and professionals. What a delight it was to have such a rich and varied group come together to eat and socialize! Discussion and reflection inevitably centered around the food. Chef David North of the Hotel Pattee was given the difficult task of creating a menu from the food donated by the Growers Network, rather than the other way around, as he might prefer. When the muse finally arrived, a four-course All-Iowa gourmet meal was born.

Butternut Squash Soup
with Northern Prairie Chevre
Asian Glazed Tofu with Winter Greens
Stuffed Beef and Pork Roulade
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
with Roasted Parsnips and Carrots
Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

The meal was complete with wine from Summerset Winery in Indianola and organic fair trade coffee donated by our great neighborhood store in Ames, Wheatsfield.

After dinner there was entertainment by some of the farmers who had donated the food. I was prepared to give my public fiddling debut; however, my fiddle wasn’t and guests were spared for at least one year. Ron and Maria Rosmann, who farm near Harlan, and Larry Cleverley, who farms near Mingo, proved to be accomplished singers and musicians. (See Sing Along with Rosmann’s on p. 29.)

As dessert was served, Chef North and the guest chefs came to the banquet hall to eat with the participants and to speak about their experience with local food. Chef North has been at the hotel Pattee for about one year now and during that time has established himself as a local food advocate. Other chefs that came to help prepare the meal were Chef Steve Feig from the Hotel Fort Des Moines, and Chefs Kurt Chausse and Joshua Clark of Aunt Maude’s in Ames.

Don’t worry if you missed this year’s banquet. People had so much fun, there are already requests for organizing the second annual banquet. The All-Iowa meals will be continuing on into their fifth full season next spring. We are wrapping up our fourth season of sourcing these family farm products for All-Iowa meals and are on track to deliver food for nearly 50 events again this year. As this article winds its way to press, food is being sourced for the National Interpreters Convention at the State Fair Grounds and the Iowa Center for Agriculture Safety and Health at the West Des Moines Marriott Hotel. At these events, like all the ones we are involved with, the diners will not only sit down to a great meal, but also will learn about the growers of this local food.