Cheese, Vermont-France Terroir Exchange kicks off Taste of Champlain Festival, July 8-12

As Vermont celebrates Champlain Quadricentennial, the 400th anniversary of French explorer Samuel de Champlain’s arrival to the lake that now bears his name in 2009, food had to be part of the equation.

The Taste of Champlain Food Festival kicks off on July 8 with morning seminars, tastings and discussions focus on the potential and importance of “origin of product” with experts from Vermont, France, and beyond. Guest speakers included cheese expert and microbiologist Sister Noella Marcellino (subject of the PBS documentary The Cheese Nun), French sensory expert Florence Berodier, and professors Amy Trubek of UVM and Pierre Merel of the University of California at Davis, among others.

It is followed by an Evening Tasting Event from 7 to 9pm with some of the most prestigious AOC French cheeses and the finest Vermont artisanal cheeses, all paired to perfection with Vermont and French wines and other specialty products from the state.

It takes place at Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts (Burlington).

Tickets are $50 and available at City Market (also in Burlington), by phone at (802)-264-0766.

I did noticed that City Market launched special products to mark the celebrations:

"The Quad-a-Poundah ($7.49/lb) is a delicious blend of local LaPlatte River Angus ground beef, Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon with a zesty Montreal-style seasoning. The Champlain Wrap ($7.95) combines Maple Ham and Brie cheese topped with Maple Honey-Dijon Mustard and greens.  In addition to the specialty burgers and wrap, the Co-op features Boyden Valley’s Quadricentennial Wine ($14.99) and Shelburne Vineyard’s Cote de Champlain ($12.99)."

On July 11, the Consumed to Thrifty in search of week-end plans can visit a FREE "open-air showcase of the region’s finest providers, from freshly harvested produce to locally produced honey, cheeses and gourmet prepared foods" on north and south sides of City Hall Park" from 8:30 a.m to 2 p.m.

At $5 per dish (proceeds benefit Burlington City Arts education scholarships) get your fill of everything strawberries at the Strawberry Festival also on Saturday, July 11 at the Food Festival Tent on Main Street, between St. Paul & Pine Streets from 11:00am to 5:00 p.m.

Looking at what local Indians used to eat and grow when back when, Alice Levitt reports in Indian Summer (July 09, Seven Days) on the recreation of an Abenaki Traditional Garden.

All in all a blend of cultivating, culture and history...