a movie, food speak, and some grub

apples in fall shadows via green city market's photostream.

about a year ago i was just standing at the right place at the right time when a friend introduced me to jim javenkoski. jim is a midwest man, through and through, and the devoted daddy of twin two year-old boys who go with their pop every saturday morning to green city market. jim also holds a phd in food science, studying both at the university of wisconsin and the university of illinois, and is a supreme advocate for local foods and the small family farm. and he's on a mission.

every month jim holds a locavore dinner at a chicago restaurant and spreads his local food wisdom through the sensory experiences that follow—he suggests certain farms and products for the chefs to use, and in the process, these dinners have featured product the chefs might have otherwise never known about or purchased. and to top it off, the farmers are invited to the dinner to not only eat and drink, but speak about the foodstuffs and the stories therein. it's a rare chance for any regular guy like me to rub elbows with the farmers who feed me year round.

and this month jim's throwing us a curveball. he's hosting a movie screening.

beth eccles, center, led the RIA and balsan restaurant crew on
a tour of green acres farm in september, and i tagged along.

the film is called "INGREDIENTS", and a copy of it is sitting in our dvd player right now. a food documentary that went straight to disc and never had life in the theaters, the film shifts between ohio, oregon, and new york city, focusing on the relationships between the small family farm and the cooks who have committed to working with the ingredients those farms put out year-round. this film gets to the very heart of what i write about on this blog, what jim advocates at his dinners, and what is slowly catching the eye of more and more americans.

the dinners usually set you back about $75, but this time around the cost drops all the way down to $25 a pop. which, just to hear jim speak and see the film is worth the price of admission, but jim's sweetened the deal a bit. matt maroni and gaztro-wagon, the pioneer of chicago food trucks, will be dishing out his naanwiches and munchies for the movie, there'll be an open bar featuring local brews, and after the film, beth and brent eccles of green acres farm and marianne sundquist of in fine spirits—she hosted and cooked for the most recent locavore dinner—will host a panel discussion moderated by jim.

here's a short clip of the film's opening, anchored by none other than berkeley local food maven, alice waters:

the event is tuesday, february 22 at 6:30pm at logan square kitchen, a rentable and shared space that's helped artisan food makers find a certified kitchen for the foods they sell at green city market. and i think it goes without saying, i'll be there.