Golden Harvest a Mouthwatering Feast for All!

Don’t read the list of delectable appetizers being prepared for this Friday’s Golden Harvest Celebration on an empty stomach. 

Using fresh ingredients and locally produced food, top local chefs, caterers, and culinary students are cooking up a night to remember at the ACT.

Thomas Haney culinary students and Chef Brian Smith will tempt your taste buds with Mini Yorkshire Puddings with beef from Hopcott Meats and BC Prune Plum Sorbet for dessert. Chef Daniel Lesnes from Garibaldi Secondary is making his own fresh goat cheese for the event using milk from Goat’s Pride Dairy, an organic dairy in Abbotsford, to put on baguettes with hazelnuts & herbs. His students will also be serving up Panini with Chicken, Pesto, & Grilled Vegetables.

Local restaurant Big Feast, now open for dinner due to customer demand, will be serving up Roasted Yam, Curry, and Mango Chutney Soup. “It’s become the new favourite for guests and staff” says chef Mike Mulcahy. Big Feast is dedicated to using local ingredients in its creations and wins their customers’ loyalty through fresh ingredients and delicious fare.

Others serving up samples and goodies at Golden Harvest are De la Bouche Specialty Foods, the Haney Farmer’s Market Society, Star Five Catering, Hopcott Meats, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Community Kitchens, Golden Ears Cheesecrafters, Nature & Living Farm, and Zena’s Gluten Free Bakery, who will be making lavender cookies using product from Maple Ridge’s own Octagon Lavender Farm & Studios.

As we said on Golden Harvest’s Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/MRGoldenHarvest ), “Friends don’t let friends miss Maple Ridge Secondary’s Chef Trevor Randle’s Asian Pork Tenderloin Sliders and Cheesecake with Local Berry Coulis.”

While the Creme Brûlée and Spiced Pumpkin Soup from last year’s Golden Harvest had people recounting the taste for weeks afterward, everyone is wondering which items will get mouths watering and tongues wagging this year. Our best advice? Come hungry

This year’s Golden Harvest takes place on Friday, October 12 from 6-8pm at the Maple Ridge ACT. Presented by the Maple Ridge Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Haney Farmers Market Society, and the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Agricultural Association, Golden Harvest highlights the variety and quality of our local food producers and farmlands.

Tickets are $25 and are are available now through the ACT (online, by phone, and in person). Ticket sales go directly towards producing the event with the intent of raising the profile of our local farmlands and food producers.