Create a Meal with Endangered Foods

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Creating an Ark Meal

By Elissa Rubin-Mahon

• Preliminary investigations. Before planning an Ark centered event, read the Ark food descriptions and think about their regions and season. Dried beans and staples should be purchased and tasted to get a feel for their flavor profiles. With foods where this is not possible, discovering their traditional use may inspire an original recipe. Because these products are unique, allow their flavors to predominate. Simple recipes are best because they will encourage attendees to incorporate Ark products into their everyday diets.
• Production planning. Creating an Ark/endangered foods centered event can require up to a year of careful planning. In many cases fresh ingredients need substantial lead times. Some items are acquired without difficulty but many require special consideration. Use the LocalHarvest directory to find Ark products. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t get items you’d like; you may find them in another form, like jams or chutneys. Remember, you’ll always be able to feature traditional local foods that aren’t endangered and present Ark foods and the Ark message through educational material. This isn’t as effective as a tasting (the way to a heart is still through the stomach), but it is sure to draw attention and interest.
• Fruits and Vegetables. Survey local farmers to find out if any are already growing Ark produce. If not, ask them if they are willing to grow items out. Tomatoes, squash and beans need large lead times. Lettuce takes less time to grow. You may need to ask farmers this year to grow items for the next year. Be willing to provide seeds if necessary.
  
  What is your community’s harvest calendar? Knowing when fresh fruits and vegetables (especially lettuce) are in season will help you time your event to take advantage of as much fresh produce as possible. If you’re planning an event or meal after harvest, canning and preserving are great ways to extend the life of a fresh fruit or vegetable. Apples and pears lend themselves particularly well to shelf applications like jams, butters, chutneys and preserves. Beans can be pickled and tomatoes can be canned. Certain berries and stone fruits are also options. Some fruits, like paw paw are so delicate that they’re only able to travel as pulp. This makes them great pantry and freezer options, but they sell out very soon after harvest. Be sure to put your order in early!
  
  Some produce wholesalers may have Ark items but it is always best to use locally grown when possible.
• Remember that seafood, meat and poultry are also seasonal. If you’re interested in featuring them on your menu, contact the producer early to find out when, for example, their heifers give birth (they’re usually claimed early!) and when they’re scheduled to be slaughtered and butchered. Many endangered breeds of rabbits, hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, turkeys and geese require special consideration.
  
  Some ranchers are beginning to specialize in endangered animals but there are huge gaps in availability. If you are able, find a farmer who is willing to raise animals for your restaurant or Slow Food chapter on a long-term basis. In addition to bringing a resource to your community you’ll help secure a necessary market for the ranchers’ risky investment. Though these ranchers are typically driven more by an appreciation of the animal’s characteristics (especially its flavor) than profit, they need to support their good-food-habit! Ranchers are often quick to point out the benefits of a secured market, which includes improved and consistent quality and the ability to command prices that reflect their labor. This may take planning of more than a year in advance and it’s never too late to begin a relationship with a rancher. The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy website and membership booklet are great resources for breeders’ contact information.
• Limited production items. Some hand-processed foods, like Alaskan birch syrup and handmade fil? powder, have very limited production. Find out when they’re harvested and order the amount you need before supplies run too low.
• Regional Qualities. It is good to explore the regional aspects of endangered food products. If they are from your area they will be easier to locate and will be meaningful to your participants. Some items, such as beans, are grown in several regions although indigenous to one. Some products, such as hand-crafted root beer, are produced throughout the country. Read the product and ingredient descriptions thoroughly to make sure it is truly an artisan product.
  
  Unlike perishable produce, regional staples such as beans, nuts, wild rice, corn and chilies are relatively easy to ship. If the Ark list for your region is thin, use local fresh foodstuffs as highlights and use non-perishable Ark foods as the basis for the meal.

Planning beyond the food:

• Price. Keep the price of the event as reasonable as possible to encourage people to come and taste the food. This is an educational event not necessarily a fundraiser.
• Locations. Local halls-for-hire or granges work well for Ark events. Large outdoor activities are fun but need additional advance planning because of offsite food preparation and permits. If table settings (dishes, flatware, glasses, napkins, etc.) are not provided by the hall or grange, you can reduce costs by having attendees bring their own table settings. Informal, domestic settings work well, with decorations and table service organized by attendees and the meal served family-style, except perhaps for the appetizer and dessert course.
• Cooking. Cooking together builds community. When planning your menus, consider how kitchen responsibilities can be delegated across the range of talents and abilities your attendees have to offer. This might mean a menu of simple dishes—just the kind that will allow endangered and unfamiliar foods to speak for themselves. An easygoing menu is one way to draw endangered foods into the mainstream: an accessible menu makes it easy for attendees to imagine using these foods in their own kitchens and enjoying the results at their own tables. Besides, a full kitchen always provokes good conversation, and the talk is bound to fall to the food you're preparing together.
• Talk about the menu. A good time to do this is just before dessert. People are very inspired by the stories of these foods and the effort needed to produce the meal. You should also consider creating explanatory “escort” cards (for buffets) or table tent cards (for family style table service). The cards can include names of foods, a map locating their production area, or a brief profile.
• Create an Ark Store. Purchase a bit of surplus staples and have a sale table of Ark products. This makes it easy for attendees to try them on their own.
• Build an Ark Trunk. The US Ark of Taste is filled with over 200 foods in all. There’s no way you can serve up a feast big enough to capture the Ark’s bounty -- and you probably wouldn’t want to! Since the Ark is a compelling project that your guests can help develop, consider creating an Ark trunk. The trunk is simply a container of your choice that is filled with a representative sample of Ark foods and/or Ark product information. Attendees can be exposed to a broad range of endangered American foods. Use as much fresh food as possible—a Buckeye Chicken or Ossabaw piglet absolutely complements a basket of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you can, try to represent each Ark category and consider including laminated information cards for foods you can’t include.