2012
- Saturday, June 30
The Ultimate Northwest Strawberry Experience
9am – noon, Thulen Farms, Skagit Valley. The day starts with a brief orientation with fifth generation grower, Chris McKnight and Shuksan booster, Jon Rowley. Then we hit a field of Thulen Farm Shuksan strawberries to pick the reddest, sweetest, juiciest most beautiful berries you can imagine…even more beautiful than you can imagine. Tickets are $40 each and include coffee, strawberry picking, two half-flats of berries, Strawberry Social, varietal tasting and discussion. Kids under ten are free except for the berries they pick to take home.
2011
- January 31-February 2
Seafood Summit 2011: Responsibility without Borders?
The Westin Bayshore, Vancouver, Canada.
2010
- Saturday, December 18, 2010 & January 16, 2011
Walrus & Carpenter Picnic
6:30pm, bus departs Seattle for Taylor Shellfish
The object is to provide a benchmark oyster eating experience by which all subsequent oyster experiences will be judged. A picnic on legendary Totten Inlet at low tide in the dark and cold in the middle of the winter, and, if you are lucky, an icy gust of wind off the bay to season the experience…more than a little crazy, yes? Lewis Carroll’s “Walrus & the Carpenter,” a tale about how the Walrus and Carpenter lure the oysters for a walk on the beach and then proceed to eat every one, provided some of allure for this outing. The winter temperatures are perfect for the oysters as well as the wines. Lantern light, freezing weather, plump, sweet oysters just rousted from their beds and opened on the spot, award-winning “oyster wines” drunk out of Reidel stemware, a bonfire…just the right mix of magic and madness. When the tide starts coming in, it is time for a cup of Xinh Dwelley‘s hot oyster stew before getting back on the bus. See here for pictures from 2010. - Tuesday, November 16
6:30pm, The Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, Seattle
Braided River joins Jon Rowley, Blueacre Seafood Restaurant and Steelhead Diner in presenting a sumptuous feast of oysters, wild salmon, Dungeness crab, spot prawns and more in celebration of award-winning photographer Amy Gulick’s exhibit and book, Salmon in the Trees: Life in Alaska’s Tongass Rain Forest.
- Saturday, November 6
4-9pm, Elliott’s Oyster New Year
Jon will be shucking oysters with the team from Taylor Shellfish. - Saturday, October 30
Flying Fish Oyster Frenzy
Jon will be shucking oysters with the team from Taylor Shellfish. - Saturday, October 9
Vashon Cider Fest Tasting
Jon will be one of the cider judges at the 3rd Annual Vashon Cider Fest Tasting at Misty Isle Farms, from 4 to 7pm. (12011 SW 220 Street, Vashon Island, WA 98070.) - Tuesday, October 5
9-10:30am, Culinary Arts dining room, Hotel Marlowe, Boston
Eating Oysters, Tasting Place, Chefs Collaborative 2010 National Summit
Jon will participate in a panel discussion with Skip Bennett, owner, Island Creek Oysters, Duxbury, MA and Poppy Tooker, food personality, cooking teacher, New Orleans, LA. Moderated by Rowan Jacobsen, author, A Geography of Oysters, American Terroir. A side-by-side tasting of East Coast and West Coast oysters will conclude this session. - Sunday, October 3
Jon will be co-leading a Chefs Collaborative Summit deep sea fishing field trip for a small group of chefs along with Paul Greenberg. - Sunday, September 26
Jon will be judging ciders in advance of the 3rd Annual Vashon Cider Fest Tasting. This year’s cider tasting takes place at Misty Isle Farms on Saturday, October 9, from 4 to 7pm. (12011 SW 220 Street, Vashon Island, WA 98070.) - Saturday, September 25
3pm, Pike Place Market, Seattle
Jon will give a demonstration on Brix: measuring fruit quality and flavor with a refractometer at the Slow Food Seattle booth during the Pike Place Market Artisan Food Festival. (Learn more about this in the tomato challenge post) - Tuesday, September 21
7pm, The Palace Ballroom, Seattle
An Edible Conversation with Rowan Jacobsen, author of American Terroir
Jon will join Rowan Jacobsen, Jill Lightner of Edible Seattle, Sharon Campbell of Tieton Cider Works and Harmony Orchard, and Greg Atkinson, Seattle chef and author of The Northwest Essentials Cookbook to discuss why delicious food is all about location, location, location. $25 ticket price includes panel discussion, appetizers, Theo chocolate and a “guided tasting” of Northwest cider, apples and oysters. - Saturday, September 18
10am–2pm. Carkeek Park, Environmental Learning Center. (directions)
Jon will be a pie judge for the 4th annual Festival of Fruit, hosted by Piper’s Orchard, City Fruit, and Seattle Tree Fruit Society. Results announced at 11:15am.
