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Gilbertie's Herb Gardens in Westport is the largest grower of USDA Organic herbs in the US and is host to Westport's 2010 indoor winter farmers' market.

Don’t let the cold weather deceive you, there’s plenty of local food to be had in Connecticut, even in the dead of winter. Three farms that grow during all four seasons with the help of hoop houses and greenhouses will be bringing their organic produce to the newly minted indoor winter farmers’ market in Westport at Gilbertie’s Herb Gardens. And it’s heated. A happy circumstance for both vendors and guests who can look forward to toasting their fingers and toes as they sip coffee and tea, lunch, and shop inside a warm greenhouse festively adorned with white Christmas lights.

Not impressed? How about a budget-friendly gourmet lunch from a different farm-to-table restaurant each week? Don’t miss opening day, Thursday, December 9, as celebrated chef Bill Taibe of leFarm restaurant of Westport dishes up lunch.  If you’ve never dined at leFarm, it’s reason enough to make the trip, just don’t forget to bring a friend for the social currency.

Harvest to Heat is as much a story book as it is a cookbook, sharing delightful backstories for each farm fresh ingredient and recipe.

Both Bill and one of the farms from which he sources organic food, Millstone Farm in Wilton, are celebrated in the newly released and very beautiful cookbook, Harvest to Heat: Cooking with America’s Best Chefs, Farmers, and Artisans, which was just named Best Cookbook Overall 2010 by Epicurious. If you subscribe to the Hallmark Channel, tune in to the Martha Stewart Show next Wednesday, November  24, where Bill Taibe will be a guest chef.

Each week one of the following restaurants will provide lunch and prepared foods at the market: leFarm, Schoolhouse at Cannondale, The Dressing Room, or Fat Cat Pie. Because you won’t want to miss any of them, I’ll post the name of each week’s restaurant on Facebook and Twitter.  Schoolhouse at Cannondale chef/owner Tim LaBant’s uncompromising commitment to serving the highest quality fresh, local, and seasonal food has won Schoolhouse numerous awards including a Top 10 Ranking on Open Table’s Best of the tri state area, Best Special Occasion restaurant 2010 by Westport Magazine, and the top Fairfield County Pick for the Best of New England 2010 guide. Now the only special occasion you have to wait for is their week at the indoor Westport farmers’ market.

In addition to the guest restaurants, Boxcar Cantina, the first restaurant in Connecticut to earn a Green Restaurant certification, and brick oven caterer Skinny Pines, a 2010 Green Coast Award recipient, will be regular weekly vendors. Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe will vend lunch every other week, starting opening day. Arrive early to avoid the lunch lines and if you can, get there are 11:00 to enjoy free weekly talks about herbs and gardening from experts at Gilbertie’s.

The indoor Westport winter farmers’ market will be held each Thursday, except December 23, from 10-1 at Gilbertie’s of Westport on 7 Sylvan Lane. Opening day is December 9, 2010 and the market closes for the season on March 31. Market to car grocery valets available upon request.

Winter 2010 Weekly Vendors

1. Boxcar Cantina
2. Skinny Pines Catering
3. Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe (alternating weeks)
4. Beltane Farm
5. Ladies of Levita Road Farm
6. SoNo Baking Company
7. Fort Hill Farm
8. Two Guys from Woodbridge
9. Riverbank Farm
10. Wave Hill Bread
11. Raus Coffee
12. Arogya Tea
13. Izzie B’s
14. Colyer Catering
15. Greyledge Farm
16. Sankow’s Beaver Brook Farm
17. Huckleberry Artisan Pastry
18. Boxed Goods
19. Calcutta Kitchen
20. Whistle Stop Bakery
21. Bone-A-Part
22. Pemaquid Seafood Harvesters *New
    

For Immediate Release

CONTACT:      Diane Stefani                                                Alison Goldstein

212.255.8224                                                646.695.7040

diane@rosengrouppr.com alison@rosengrouppr.com

Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant Taps Jon Vaast as New Head Chef and Unveils American Tapas Menu

– Award-winning Chef and Owner Michel Nischan Ramps Up Efforts of Wholesome Wave –

Westport, CT. (May 21,  2010) -Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant, a Westport, Connecticut restaurant committed to serving local, natural and organic American food, today announced the promotion of Jon Vaast to head chef.

This move comes as Michel Nischan, James Beard Award-winning chef, cookbook author and sustainable food leader, shifts roles from chef to restaurateur and to nonprofit President and CEO. Wholesome Wave, the nonprofit he founded in 2007, is dedicated to increasing production of and access to fresh and affordable locally grown food in historically excluded neighborhoods throughout the country. “I’ve always yearned for the reality of a sustainable food system that moves beyond the white table cloth realm. Being a restaurateur, while at the helm of Wholesome Wave, allows me to expand the founding principles of Dressing Room to new horizons,” said Nischan.

Dressing Room opened in 2006 when Nischan teamed up with the late Paul Newman to open a restaurant that reflected their shared commitment to neighborly hospitality, sustainable ingredients and regional American heirloom food.  ”An original employee since the opening of Dressing Room, Jon has a clear understanding of the Dressing Room vision and the homegrown foundation upon which the restaurant was built,” said Nischan. “We are eager to witness Dressing Room’s evolution under Jon, our young whipper-snapper.” Vaast will steward valued relationships with local producers while taking the helm of Dressing Room’s new small plates menu, which offers diners Dressing Room’s homegrown tastes in a more affordable format.

As Vaast, 24, takes over day-to-day operations at Dressing Room, Nischan will focus on growing Wholesome Wave’s lynchpin initiative, the Double Value Coupon Program (DVCP).  The program harnesses relationships between government agencies, community-based organizations, educational institutions and residents of communities, to double the value of benefits provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) via Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Food Stamps.   The DVCP serves over 150 farmers’ markets in more than 15 states with over 25 participating partners, and was recently cited in the White House Childhood Obesity Task Forces Report as one of 70 policy recommendations. “We believe our programs can make it possible for under-served communities to be the underdog heroes of a changed food system,” says Nischan.

About Dressing Room:

Located adjacent to the legendary Westport Country Playhouse, Dressing Room is a reflection of founders Paul Newman and Michel Nischan’s mutual commitment to neighborly hospitality, local, natural and organic ingredients and regional American heirloom food.  Dressing Room’s meats are pasture-raised by family farmers practicing humane animal husbandry. Their fish comes from sustainable, well-managed wild sources or aquaculture systems. All fruits and vegetables are sourced from local or regional producers. Located just an hour from New York City, Dressing Room is constantly researching new sources for organic and biodynamic foods and beverages. Dressing Room was named “Best Lunch: by County” and “Best Lunch: Statewide Runner-Up” by Connecticut magazine readers in 2010. For more information, please visit www.dressingroomhomegrown.com.