Food and culinary professionals from all over the country gathered in southeastern Pennsylvania for the 5th annual Eat Retreat. They arrived ready to collaborate and inspire each other. Sharing happened throughout the day’s activities and in the kitchen as Eat Retreaters cooked together.
We received a record number of applications for our 2015 event. We are proud to have provided 25% of our attendees with OpenTable Scholarships. One full scholarship was awarded to OpenTable member, Henry Prendergast of Analogue in Chicago.
As experts in their craft, Eat Retreat attendees led 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.
With the commitments of running a small business, it is difficult to find time to reflect on the health of my industry. Eat Retreat was an invaluable opportunity to meet so many talented food professionals, all working to move our industry in the right direction. I’m positive that the Eat Retreat community will continue to shape the future of food in this country and beyond. Henry Prendergast, Mixologist, Co-ownner of Analogue& OpenTable Scholarship Recipient
Thank you OpenTable for making it possible.Let’s collaborate again!