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Food of Love (Chocolate!) & Shakespeare Go Together |
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On: 04:00PM / Thursday January 31, 2013 |
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The ninth annual Food of Love (A Celebration of Shakespeare, Love, and Chocolate) will take place at the Williams Inn on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m.
Food of Love is a benefit for the Fall Festival of Shakespeare at Mount Greylock Regional High School, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary next November. At this event, the audience will enjoy a chocolate buffet, provided by the Williams Inn, while high school actors present some of Shakespeare's scenes — comic, tragic and always romantic.
This year's theme is "Love Interrupted," with scenes where love might be ill suited, just declared, or not quite resolved. In addition to Shakespeare's work, some scenes from David Ives plays will also be included for a contemporary take on the theme.
Seating is limited. Tickets are $25 for adults, $15 for students, available at Where'd You Get That?!, Wild Oats Market and at the door.
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Local Chefs to Bring Berkshire Flavor to NYC |
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Staff Reports On: 12:25AM / Wednesday January 23, 2013 |
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 Photo Courtesy of Mari Landua
The Red Lion Inn's Executive Chef Brian J. Alberg will make his 10th trip to the James Beard House in New York City.
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STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A group of Berkshire chefs will team up to present a farm-to-table dinner of locally grown food and livestock to New York City on March 1.
The event titled The Berkshire Cure-All, which was spearheaded by The Red Lion Inn's Executive Chef Brian J. Alberg, will take place at the famed James Beard House, the location of the former townhouse of chef, food author and television personality James Beard. Every month over 20 events are held at the house that showcase international culinary diversity.
This year, Alberg will be joined by:
► Stephen Browning, chef at Bell and Anchor (Great Barrington)
► Terry Moore, chef-owner of The Old Mill (South Egremont)
► Jamie Paxton, chef at The Meat Market (Great Barrington)
► Daire Rooney, chef at Allium Restaurant + Bar (Great Barrington)
► Dan Smith, chef-owner of John Andrews: A Farmhouse Restaurant (South Egremont)
► Zee Vassos, chef at Firefly (Lenox)
► Dan Thomas, sommelier (wine expert) at Red Lion Inn (Stockbridge)
This is the 10th trip to the James Beard House for Alberg and the fourth time he'll be bringing a group of Berkshire chefs with him.
Each chef will be in charge of a course, while Thomas will spearhead the drink selection. Rooney will prepare the hor's d'oeuvres, which includes knackwurst with rutabaga sauerkraut and pickled mustard seeds, and pork belly rillettes with winter squash mostarda. For a listing of the entire menu, click here.
The event will begin at 7 p.m. with a reception and hor d'oeuvres at the house's greenhouse gallery. Tickets for the general public are $170.
The James Beard House is located at 167 West 12th Street. For reservations, call 212-627-2308.
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Great Barrington European Deli to Reopen in Pittsfield |
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By Joe Durwin On: 05:45PM / Friday January 18, 2013 |
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The deli will open after it finishes up the final stages of permitting.
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A beloved South County specialty food shop and will open soon on Pittsfield's main thoroughfare.
The new location of Maria's European Delight will offer many of the same kinds of meats, fish, cheeses, pickled vegetables and other edibles as its southern incarnation, along with new additions such as fresh made sandwiches, owners Kryzysztof and Maria Sekowski told iBerkshires. The deli had previously been at its Route 7 location in Great Barrington for five years.
The delights offered by Maria's cover a wide range of northern European fare, particularly staples of Hungarian, Polish, German, Russian and Jewish cuisine. Much of the deli's inventory is sourced from New York City and includes many items which cannot otherwise be found for sale in this region. The Sekowski's say five years at their previous location have refined their ideas of what is most in demand locally.
"When you start the second time, you know a lot more," Kryzsztof Sekowski said.
The couple cited the appeal of increased walking traffic, downtown lunch business, and less expensive rent as major factors in the decision to relocate from the smaller, tourist-rich community to the slightly more urban environment.
The Sekowski's expect to open their doors for business next week, but an exact date was still uncertain as the deli is in the final stages of inspections and awaiting proper permits.
"Once we do, I'm heading straight to New York," said Kryzsztof, where he will acquire the rest of the fresh foods to fill the rest of the shop.
The new location at 146-A North Street, between Abbey Cutters and the Palace parking lot, has seen several changeovers in the past half decade. Music shop and indie band venue Rebel Sound Records occupied the spot for most of 2009 through 2010, then Great Gifts & More opened there for about a year, followed by two other businesses which operated there more briefly in 2012.
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WilliNet Airs Documentary on Local Food and Farming |
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On: 10:00AM / Monday December 31, 2012 |
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — "Place of Stones: Food in Motion," a film about local food and farming, is being featured on WilliNet. The film will air on WilliNet's channel 17 and will be available online through Feb. 9.
The film will be aired:
► Dec. 31 at 9 p.m. Saturdays at noon, excluding Jan. 29, which will air at 7 p.m.
► Fridays at 7 p.m., except on Jan. 28 (no show)
► Wednesdays every other week at 9 p.m. and 1 p.m. (check schedule)
Sharon Wyrrick filmed Places of Stones between 2008 and 2010, which features farms, community gardens, school gardens, food assistance programs, restaurants, retail venues and other local initiatives through interviews and on-site footage. She considers Place of Stones a documentary about developing efforts in the Northern Berkshires to strengthen local food and agriculture.
"I wanted the film to cast a broad swath and give opportunity for farmers, local leaders and participants in the local food movement to have a chance to tell their story," Wyrrick said. "In this way, the film has many stories to tell with the larger story being a chronicle of the truly remarkable community-wide focus on increasing access to locally produced food."
The film chronicles the effort of a group of local citizens to catalyze a new community-supported agriculture farm that would be accessible to people of all income levels. This effort began as a part of "Target Hunger: North Berkshire," a program of The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. It resulted in the founding of a community organization, Hoosac Harvest, and an ongoing subsidized community supported agricultare share program in collaboration with Square Roots Farm in the summer of 2010.
The film first premiered at the Farm Film Feast Festival at Images Cinema in April 2012.
"I had two big surprises in this film project," Wyrrick said. "The first was that so much could change in such a short period of time between when the filming ended in 2010 and now. The second is that I would start my own small farming effort, Many Forks Farm, in Clarksburg in the summer of 2012."
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Eat To Total Health Opening On Ashland Street |
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By John Durkan On: 03:50PM / Saturday December 15, 2012 |
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Renee Tassone poses in front of the counter at her new store Eat To Total Health, located at 14 Ashland St., which is set to open Dec. 26.
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Renee Tassone's business Eat To Total Health is moving from her home to 14 Ashland St. on Dec. 26.
"We can heal our bodies from everything with the right tools and it doesn't have to come from a pill," Tassone said.
Tassone drew from her own experience with Celiac disease, which is a condition that makes the body react negatively with gluten and prevents the small intestine's lining from absorbing essential food parts.
"I realized how our connection between food and health is important," Tassone said.
The shop has two aspects — a "cleansing" program and and sales of healthy food.
Tassone said the program, which costs $30, starts with an hour-and-a-half consultation in person or by phone. She then helps the client create a program fitting to his or her goals. Tassone keeps in touch for adjustments and coaching. The program, on average, runs about three weeks, but Tassone said that many of her clients continue to eat healthy beyond the program.
"This cleanse really teaches you to eat healthy," Tassone said. "It becomes a lifestyle for people."
Her shop will sell various health foods and smoothies. The meals will be vegan and allergy free. At her home, Tassone delivered meals and smoothies to customers at their work or home. That service will continue, but now people have the option of also picking up the foods or drinks from the shop or sitting down and dining in.
Pet food will also be on sale, as well as other products such as protein powders, health books and movies, and fresh fruits and vegetables.
Tassone began consulting friends last January and the program "snowballed" from there. She consults roughly 40 people at any given time from various states as far away as Florida. Tassone said she's served about 400 people, all satisfied.
In August on her drive home from work, Tassone was excited by the prospect of selling home-cooked premade meals. She tested it out at first, posting to her Facebook what she was making and that she was taking orders. Tassone expected a couple orders, but instead ended up with more than 30. She currently serves about 100-150 meals each week. Meals typically range from $5 to $11 and she delivers as far out as Bennington, Vt., and Pittsfield.
"It kind of fell into place to open a shop," Tassone said.
When the Ashland Street location opened up, Tassone jumped at the opportunity to rent from First Congregational Church. SLC Contractors, based out of Clarksburg, is currently renovating the 700 square-foot space.
The store is located on 14 Ashland St. and will be open from Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. through 7 p.m. and on Saturday, noon to 5. For more information, check out the store's website or Facebook page.
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Stephanie Farrington of 
