CMP SERIES CERTIFICATION MADE POSSIBLE Bon Appetit

‘Salespeople may say no because they think it would upset the chef. But chefs and food-and-beverage directors typically enjoy doing this.’

One of the meals served at the Sustainable Agriculture Conference was a seated formal dinner, presented buffet-style. Here’s what was on the menu — along with the local provider of each ingredient:

everything was there and labeled all the products — ‘spinach for Friday lunch,’ for example,” she said. “Sometimes I use three farms for one meal, and the menu for each meal has the names of the farms on it. So you have to make sure you’re using the right products. There has to be truth in menu.”

FOUR-STAR REVIEWS At the end of the conference, there were rave reviews all around — from attendees, cfsa, and the hotel. “We were very pleased with the local and seasonal food served by the Shera- ton,” Broadwell said. “Our attendees once again loved the food and appreciated all of the effort that went into sourcing and preparing it.” Tayouga also appreciated the farm-to-fork experience.

“The group was so nice to work with — from the organizers to the attendees. I wish I could deal with groups like that on a weekly basis,” he said. “I spent about 13 years in France, where I used to work for small restaurants. You would go to the market with a bag and select what you want and shake hands with the farmer and put a face on the product. This event was the closest I’ve gotten to that.” cfsa’s conference also “worked out [for the hotel] from a

dollars standpoint,” Palmieri said. “It was a great group. They had a great room pickup. It was a win-win for both. They had a successful meeting. We were able to prepare and serve the food. It worked out well that they and we were open to see how we could do this as a win-win for the association, hotel, and attendees.” Palmieri, Walsh, and Tayouga all look forward to cfsa

returning to the Sheraton in 2013. “We are in negotiations and hope that we can make it happen,” Broadwell said. “We are planning to return.” Meanwhile, the Hyatt Regency Greenville — site of this

year’s Sustainable Agriculture Conference — has a tough act to follow.

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Contributing Editor Carol Bialkowski is a New Jersey–based writer and editor.

66 PCMA CONVENE MAY 2012

+ ON THE WEB To learn more about the

Sustainable Agriculture Conference, visit carolinafarmstewards .org/sac11.shtml.

Chilled Tatsoi and Spinach Salad With Sesame-Ginger Dressing Tatsoi: Cottle Organics; spinach: Jackson Farm; ginger: Ol’ Turtle Farm

Salad Bar Lettuce: Don Boekelheide Incubator Farmer; radishes: Coon Rock; tomatoes: M&M Plant Farms; cucumber: Johnson County Organics; sprouts: Sunny Creek Farm

Pork BBQ Pork: Wells & Jenkins

Vegan Collards Collards: Cane Creek

Low-Country Purple Rice and Peas Rice: Clyde Valley Farm; sea-island peas: Anson Mills

Hush Puppies Cornmeal: Peaceful Valley Farm

Hot Keenebec Potato Salad Potatoes: Mountain Valley Organics

Ice Cream With Berries and Pecans Ice cream: Homeland Creamery; berries: Strepps Farm; pecans: Greene Family Farm

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