August 15, 2005
FRESNO, Ca. - Gourmet food lovers from throughout California flocked to the Second Annual Fig Fest held in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley.
Nearly 4,000 people sampled food featuring fresh and dry figs. Award-winning chefs Sondra Bernstein of the girl & the fig in Sonoma and Carlo Middione of Vivande Porta Via in San Francisco autographed their best-selling cookbooks.
The crowd enjoyed fig cookies, fig ice creams, fig salads, crepes stuffed with figs, cream cheese and citrus, baked Brie with fig chutney, and grilled figs wrapped in bacon. The savory aroma of grilled pork filled the air, accented by the sweet smell of fresh fruit. Children nibbled on chocolate fig torte and dipped fresh figs into a chocolate fountain. Families bought fig trees, fresh figs and fig jams.
The free event on Aug. 13, sponsored by the California Fig Advisory Board and Slow Food Madera, was designed to increase appreciation for figs and local produce. Fig Fest spotlighted 15 chefs from the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area.
Chef Roy Harland of Slates in Fresno said, "To bite into a sweet, ripe, moist and supple fig with its slightly abrasive purplish-black skin, and the subtle crunch of tiny seeds, is to experience heaven right here on earth.”
Harland’s son, Malachi, who came home to Fresno from San Francisco to open The Chef’s Table, added, “Figs are the most underrated fruit I can think of. I just don’t see them often enough on restaurant menus. I love heirloom tomatoes, summer squash and shelling beans. But figs stand alone in my opinion.”
Fig Fest also featured original creations from: Acequia on Main in Visalia, Braun's Gourmet Ice Cream of Fresno, Campagnia of Fresno, Doug-Out Cookies of Fresno, Erna's Elderberry House of Oakhurst, Laloo’s Goat’s Milk Ice Cream of Petaluma, Love & Garlic of Fresno, Upstairs/Downtown of Fresno, The Vineyard Restaurant of Madera, The Vintage Press of Visalia and Whole Foods Market of Fresno.
“Figs are rich and sexy. They inspire passion and creativity,” said Ron Radoicich, a Slow Food Madera co-founder and third generation farmer who grows fig trees.
Fig Fest was held at the Vineyard Farmer’s Market in Fresno. The event lasted from 9 a.m. to Noon and featured live jazz by Lisa’s Big Night Out. Fig Fest has evolved from a local event into an attraction for fig aficionados from Los Angeles and the Central Coast, said Richard Matoian, manager of the California Fig Advisory Board.
An annual Celebration of Figs dinner, held at Upstairs/Downtown on the eve of Fig Fest, sold out immediately; a second night was added.
Fresh figs are harvested from May to November. Dried figs are harvested from late summer to early fall. All of the nation’s dried figs and 98% of the nation’s fresh figs are grown in California, primarily Fresno, Madera and Merced counties. The majority of dried figs grown in California are made into Fig Newton cookies.
Contact: Phoebe Wall Howard 559-225-3116
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