I can't review the whole jubilee, since I only attended the lunch - the First Locavore Long Table Lunch, which is put on by the Athol Rec Committee. I did hear though that there was wonderful entertainment, a scavenger hunt, and other things to do for the whole family.
Reservations were needed for the lunch, and it was soon sold out. What a great idea to serve only excellent local fare such as Angelo Bean's Huff Estate Riesling-infused sausages (yummy and not greasy), with Pyramid Ferments Sauerkraut and County Yum Club honey mustard. The Vicki's Veggies cherry tomatoes had rather tough skin, but you never know about the weather in The County (that would be Prince Edward County). Potato salad was excellent.
Dessert was Pink Lunch Pail cherry (of course) pie, served with ice cream which was not identified as to source, but that I can only hope was local - there is an excellent ice cream maker in nearby Bloomfield.
Minuses on this meal - service was by volunteers and they sometimes spent time socializing among themselves far away from the tables while we waited for service or needed something that was missing. It wasn't a buffet so we had to wait to be noticed if we needed something.
Second problem - the use of paper plates for some (not all) of the meal. This is hard to forgive these days. I carry my own cutlery in my purse for those times when there might be paper and plastic used, but I don't carry plates.
Minor point - not everybody got the exact same meal. I would have loved to try some of that pink sauerkraut, but that was not to be. I watched while my neighbour enjoyed hers. My own (yellow) sauerkraut was delicious, but you know...
This was a really excellent meal, I point out the shortcomings as they are all easy to fix and may not have been noticed by the organizers. So a solid 5 stars and I hope to return next year. read more
