Food makers and culinary professionals from all over the country gathered in southeastern Pennsylvania for the 5th annual Eat Retreat, bringing their most treasured ingredients to share.
They came with knives and tinctures, fermenting tricks and secret flour blends. As experts in their craft, they also came ready with skill-sharing workshops and guided tastings.
Budget Brick Oven
With 45 bricks, 8 cinder blocks, two sheets of metal and a bag of sand, Anthony Calleo built an oven and threw us a pizza party in the woods.
Citrus Tasting
Rick Nahmias traveled across the country with a box of California citrus for a fruit history lesson and blind tasting.
Gluten-free Baking
Baker Erica Fair led a session in baking with alternative flours, resulting in the ultimate breakfast treats.
Knife Sharpening
Sushi chef Erik Aplin taught us how to treat our knives and also demonstrated his fish butchery techniques on a whole bluefish.
Fermentation
Jeffrey de Picciotto and Chris O’Brien discussed fermentation techniques and traditions as we tasted ferments such as miso, koji, kimchi and kvass.
Community Building
In true collaborative spirit, Liz Martin, Liz Fitzgerald, Nadine Nelson, Rick Nahmias and Simran Jaising led a heart-felt session on developing meaningful partnerships and community engagement.
Eggsploration
From tiny quail eggs to the jumbo emu egg, Liz Martin led an investigative workshop all about eggs—included her own backyard chicken eggs.
Cruz de Asado Roast
With a whole pig donated from Stonybrook Meadow Farm, Laura del Campo organized a open-pit whole animal roast for the opening night of Eat Retreat.
A few special things were tucked away to barter at the Food Swap on the last day. Salt brined olives, Jamaican spice blends and chipotle bitters to name a few. Hatchery boxes were also traded, but no one was left out… Everyone took home a Hatchery box to play with in their home kitchen.
I get such a thrill taking my homemade food projects out into the world. The Food Swap was such a great way to connect with other Eat Retreaters and share a piece of who I am at home.ALEX JONES, VALUE CHAIN COORDINATOR AT FAIR FOOD PHILLY
Thank you Hatchery for making it possible.Let’s collaborate again!