Devotay eNewsletter - September 2008

It's difficult to think anything but good thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.

-Lewis Grizzard 

 Who would have thought anyone would want my autograph?

The Devotay  eNewsletter - September 2008

 Write it off as false modesty if you must but I am genuinely honored at the outpouring of support and praise for my new book.  People have actually stood in line to wait for me to sign it.  It's a very strange feeling, but I like it.

A Cook's Journey Update

The book tour has been quite a whirlwind already, and it's just getting started.  We kicked it off in San Francisco at Slow Food Nation (more on that below), and have since done two readings here in town (one more to come Nov. 14 - Live From Prairie Lights!), one in Fairfield and one in St. Louis at the Schlafly Bottleworks.  Next up are the Food for Thought festival in Madison this weekend and the Twin Cities for the Midwest Booksellers Conference next weekend, with a public reading at Lucia's restaurant on Friday (9/25) at 5pm.

Then Kansas City for the American Royal BBQ Cook-Off.

In addition, we've received some really great press. Anne Kapler had nice things to say in the Gazette a couple weeks back, and Linda Egenes is my new favorite writer after the review she penned for the Iowa Source.  Then my dear friend Deb Madison wrote a great review for the cool food website Culinate.com, and Michael Knock posted a great interview over at the Press-Citizen just today with a video "Cooking Class" of one of the recipes from the book.   

As if that weren't enough, I was interviewed yesterday for a piece that will run in the food section of next (9/23) Wednesday's Christian Science Monitor, and on Tuesday I'm recording a piece for Lynn Rosetto Kasper's public radio program The Splendid Table.

If you haven't picked up a copy yet, the best place to get one is at Devotay.  It's also on the shelf at Prairie Lights Books, New Pioneer (Coralville), Muddy Creek Wines, Cucina de Mundo and at Barnes and Nobles all over the country.  You can also see it at Amazon, but we're a little ticked at them because they keep listing it as out-of-stock when it isn't.

All in all the response has been more than I could have hoped for.  Thanks to all of you who already have a copy, and to those of you who are going to rush out right now and get one for yourself.  And one for your neighbor. And one for the paperboy,  And one for that nice old lady up the street.... 

A quick note for all of you who dutifully open and read these little missives the moment they land in your inbox - come to the Motley Cow TONIGHT (Wed, 9/17) from 5pm 'til close, for a Catfish Fry and Veggie Buffet.  It's $25 per person and all proceeds benefit Iowa farm flood victims.

In case you've yet to visit, Motley Cow is right across the street from Devotay @ 160 North Linn, and their number is 319.688.9177.

How can you miss with fried catfish?

Slow Food Nation

It's going to take me more than just a few days to fully understand the effects and implications of the first Slow Food Nation, held in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend. The brain power on display was impressive enough: Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan, Winona LaDuke, Carlo Petrini, Raj Patel, Eric Schlosser, and other luminaries took center stage at panels. Add to that the myriad of other events and mind-blowing food, and you get a truly unforgettable event for the thousands who attended.

Despite the multitude of free activities at Slow Food Nation, I heard in the weeks leading up to it that it was all too expensive and was further evidence of food snobs run amok. Yet during the event, the chief complaints I heard were that it was too crowded and that the events that did cost money were all sold out. So while accurate numbers on attendance are still being calculated (it's estimated at 60,000), it was easy to see that attendance exceeded expectations, and that those who appreciated its worth outnumbered those who did not.

As to the elitism charge, while there are those who will not be convinced otherwise regardless of what Slow Food says or does, it simply does not hold up upon close examination of Slow Food's work as an organization on the whole. Does it contain members who are snobs or who occasionally act snobby? With 17,000 members before this event and predictions by some that that number may double as a result of it, yes, there is no doubt that in a sampling that large you will find some -- perhaps quite a few -- "elitists." But to dismiss the organization's important work, from networking rural farmers in Africa to helping revive milpas in Mexico, simply because much of what Slow Food does is academic or expensive is myopic.

Slow Food does not do everything right and will never please everyone, nor is it any form of panacea, nor does it claim to be. It can and has made lives better for thousands of people not just in the U.S. and Italy (where it was founded) but from Bolivia to the Ivory Coast to India by supporting farmers and aiding to reinvigorate local food traditions. Here in the U.S. it raised thousands of dollars to help the farmers and fishers affected by Katrina, then raised thousands more for Midwest flood relief. Already Slow Food USA has turned its attention once more to the Gulf in the wake of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

The event itself was a joy to behold. At one of the free events, called the Soapbox and held adjacent to the Victory Garden in San Francisco's Civic Center Plaza, speakers and performers offered a huge range of ideas, from the political to the poetic (sometimes both), through speeches and dance, drumming and prayer. Especially moving was a performance by peach farmer David Masumoto and his daughter Nikiko of a poem about a hailstorm that wiped out an entire harvest accompanied by the traditional Teiko Japanese drum. Some in the audience wept as they heard the thunder and felt the hail rip the flesh of the peaches.

In the end many people came just for the food, and it was indeed excellent food, from the Indian naan to the Native American Manoomin rice cakes to Iowa prosciutto to abalone to tamales to mufaleta. But they came away with a message, one summarized in the Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture, (reprinted below) which urges the government to adopt "twelve principles [that] should frame food and agriculture policy, to ensure that it will contribute to the health and wealth of the nation and the world." I strongly encourage you to read it and endorse it.

We, the undersigned, believe that a healthy food system is necessary to meet the urgent challenges of our time. Behind us stands a half-century of industrial food production, underwritten by cheap fossil fuels, abundant land and water resources, and a drive to maximize the global harvest of cheap calories. Ahead lie rising energy and food costs, a changing climate, declining water supplies, a growing population, and the paradox of widespread hunger and obesity.

These realities call for a radically different approach to food and agriculture. We believe that the food system must be reorganized on a foundation of health: for our communities, for people, for animals, and for the natural world. The quality of food, and not just its quantity, ought to guide our agriculture. The ways we grow, distribute, and prepare food should celebrate our various cultures and our shared humanity, providing not only sustenance, but justice, beauty and pleasure.

Governments have a duty to protect people from malnutrition, unsafe food, and exploitation, and to protect the land and water on which we depend from degradation. Individuals, producers, and organizations have a duty to create regional systems that can provide healthy food for their communities. We all have a duty to respect and honor the laborers of the land without whom we could not survive. The changes we call for here have begun, but the time has come to accelerate the transformation of our food and agriculture and make its benefits available to all.

We believe that the following twelve principles should frame food and agriculture policy, to ensure that it will contribute to the health and wealth of the nation and the world. A healthy food and agriculture policy:

1. Forms the foundation of secure and prosperous societies, healthy communities, and healthy people.

2. Provides access to affordable, nutritious food to everyone.

3. Prevents the exploitation of farmers, workers, and natural resources; the domination of genomes and markets; and the cruel treatment of animals, by any nation, corporation or individual.

4. Upholds the dignity, safety, and quality of life for all who work to feed us.

5. Commits resources to teach children the skills and knowledge essential to food production, preparation, nutrition, and enjoyment.

6. Protects the finite resources of productive soils, fresh water, and biological diversity.

7. Strives to remove fossil fuel from every link in the food chain and replace it with renewable resources and energy.

8. Originates from a biological rather than an industrial framework.

9. Fosters diversity in all its relevant forms: diversity of domestic and wild species; diversity of foods, flavors and traditions; diversity of ownership.

10. Requires a national dialog concerning technologies used in production, and allows regions to adopt their own respective guidelines on such matters.

11. Enforces transparency so that citizens know how their food is produced, where it comes from, and what it contains.

12. Promotes economic structures and supports programs to nurture the development of just and sustainable regional farm and food networks.

Our pursuit of healthy food and agriculture unites us as people and as communities, across geographic boundaries, and social and economic lines. We pledge our votes, our purchases, our creativity, and our energies to this urgent cause.

Slow Food Iowa Harvest Dinner

The 7th annual Slow Food Iowa Harvest Dinner is coming up on Friday October 7th.  It'll be at Augusta in Oxford this year, so you know the vittles will be good.  Chef Benjamin will be serving grits and grillades, fried chicken and catfish, stuffed squash and his fresh bread baked in small batches.

You can get your tickets through the Slow Food Iowa website.  Get'em soon, they'll go fast.

Brunch! 

Don't forget that Devotay has launched a Sunday brunch buffet.  It runs from 10am-2pm every Sunday, and is just $14.  Kids 12 and under are 1/2 price.  Our cyclist's discount applies too. 

On the buffet you'll find something new and different every Sunday, as well as a few old standards.  One week you might find crepes, another might have sourdough french toast.  You'll always find our tasty local bacon and our Kalona Organics butter for your bread.

We feature a couple of tasty cocktails too: the classic mimosa is fresh orange juice with sparkling wine (we use Cava); and Kim's Sherry Mary is just what it sounds like -  great homemade bloody mary mix with dry sherry (yes, I was skeptical at first too, but it really is quite good). 

So just like for dinner, call 319.354.1001 to reserve a table, and bring your friends and family.  Our cyclists discount applies too.   

Wide World of Wine 

Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of grapes

The thrill of Viognier - and the agony of LaFite

The human drama of varietal competition

This is Devotay's Wide World of Wine  

Each month we choose a grape, and bring you four variations on that grape from four different regions - usually four different continents!  On September 22nd it really will be the "Thrill of Viognier," because, well, we're featuring Viognier.

Please call the restaurant (319.354.1001) and reserve you place now, these tastings often sell out, and are always hailed as good wines and good times.  Bring a friend, bring a coworker, bring a date.  Learn about Viognier, one of my favorite grapes, and have a good time doing it.

Caveats & Fine Print: 

For those who are unfamiliar with how we do things at these tastings, it's really quite simple, and a whole lot of fun.

One Monday a month we set aside a portion of the restaurant for those who want to revel in the glory of the grape with others of their own ilk. It's just $23, and for that paltry sum you get tastes (roughly 2-3 ounce pours) of 4 different wines in some sort of cohesive theme (this year it's varietals), as well as a tapa or two to match and some sparkling conversation with winemakers, wine sellers, fellow wine lovers and of course Kim and Yours Truly.

All are welcome, from the novice to the bonafide sommelier. All you need is an interest in wine and the ability to bend your elbow. Actually, not even that - we have straws if you need'em.

Slow Food members get $2.00 off, and everyone who sticks around for a full dinner afterward can enjoy 25% off any bottle on our list.

It’s always on a Monday, and the fun always begins at 6:30. Make your reservations by calling the restaurant at 319.354.1001.

The winetasting calendar is available at this link. 

Discount for Cyclists

As mentioned before, Kim and I are avid cyclists, and proud members of Bicyclists of Iowa City.

In order to encourage more cycling, less traffic and less pollution, we have now instituted a 10% discount for anyone who rides their bike to the restaurant.

Just show your server your helmet, point out your bike, and we'll knock 10% off your meal.  If your guest(s) ride(s) too, we'll discount their meal as well.  This is not only for next week, but from now on.

That's all from Devotay World HQ!

Peace,

kmf  

"If you eat you are a part of agriculture" - Wendell Berry 

In This Issue:

A Cook's Journey Update

TONIGHT! Flood relief Dinner @ Motley Cow

Slow Food Nation

A Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture

Slow Food Iowa Harvest Dinner

Brunch

Wine World

Discount for Cyclists