I’m pleased to report that our premier live, immersive event, FERN Talks & Eats, held before a sold-out audience of 250 people in Brooklyn Monday night, was a smashing success. The Brooklyn Eagle covered our event, if you’d like to get another take.
Four of our reporters delivered compelling spoken stories on topics they’ve covered in the dramatic Green Building, matched with a delicious array of small-plate dishes from some of New York City’s most notable chefs. The evening featured singers, dancers, actors and shadow puppets, and was capped by my conversation with chef and author Dan Barber.
Michelle Nijhuis kicked off the evening’s spoken words, recounting the mystery of Paddlefish caviar smuggling centered in the Ozarks of Missouri. Nijhuis reported on this topic for us in her story, “Caviar’s Last Stand,” published on Medium. After, a dish of striped bass crudo with sustainable Paddlefish roe, created by Richard Kuo of Pearl and Ash, was passed to the audience.
Tracie McMillan followed, with a story of picking garlic and living with farmworkers in California. McMillan has reported for us on food stamps for Mother Jones and farmworker wage theft for The American Prospect, for which she won a James Beard Foundation award in 2013. Her riveting account was complemented by a garlic soup and grissini by Mary Cleaver of The Green Table.
Maryn McKenna told of her visit to a sustainable and humane farm in Georgia, to see how “chickens become chicken.” McKenna has reported on antibiotics for us for Modern Farmer, Medium, and ABC News. After the hushed account, the audience dined on coq au vin with celery root puree and braised greens by Jason Weiner of the restaurant Almond.
Lisa Hamilton wrapped up the evening’s stories, telling of a Hmong immigrant in Fresno who grew her special New Year’s rice–and the dilemma it posed in a drought-stricken region. Hamilton has written about quinoa for us for Harper’s magazine. Arroz con leche by chef Seamus Mullen of Tertulia complemented the talk.
For the finale of the evening, I spoke with Dan Barber about farms, grains, and the breads we’ve lost–subjects tackled recently in Dan’s The Third Plate and my book, In Search of the Perfect Loaf. Served along side the talk were a homemade farro cracker with fall vegetables by Franny’s restaurant and breads by baker Peter Endriss of Runner & Stone.
The evening was funded by a competitive grant from the Investigative News Network’s INNovation Fund, with support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Other sponsors included, Annie’s, Clean Plates, Cleaver Co., Edible Publications, Fleisher’s, Happy Cooking, New York Distilling, Organic Valley, Sovereign Cider, Stonyfield, and WYNC. These kind of events play an important role, bringing our stories to audiences in new ways and supporting our ongoing work.
On that score, I want to also direct you to our most recent story. It tells of a failed Hong Kong stock offering by the largest Chinese supplier of premium tuna to Japan. Reporter Shannon Service delved into the offering documents, where the company admitted to flouting international catch quotas on tuna to supply Japan’s market. The story, “Tuna firm’s bungled IPO exposes China’s flouting of global fishing rules,” ran on The Guardian.
There’s more to come, so stay tuned. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook.