PA Eats Gives the B&L Society a Lovely Shout-Out!
One of the best things about celebration is that it can take just about any form you want it to…but if you ask the Bacon & Lox Society, the most special celebrations almost always involve food.
So much food!
I grew up sharing big, boisterous meals with my family, each of us sharing from the communal “center of the table,” as it were. The result? Our meals brought us together. Everybody participated, and everybody contributed…not just to the decisions as to what we would order, but to the process of making it all disappear after it arrived, as well.
Many of the celebratory gatherings and get-togethers organized by the Bacon & Lox Society have been centered around this idea of communal thanksgiving, as we’re firm believers in the unadulterated magic of the shared experience.
All of this would wind up becoming a primary inspiration for our annual Full-Circle Creek Dinners, which we’ve now been doing for four years running! These events are the true epitome of communal celebration, everyone pitching in, bringing a special talent, gift, or skill to the table that it might be shared with everyone else in our loving little community.
And when we call it a “creek dinner,” we’re being pretty literal — these events take place smack in the middle of a real, live Northern Pennsylvania creek! By stripping ourselves of the comfort that comes with an indoor setting, we not only connect closely with each other, but with nature, as well. Believe me when I tell you that there are few experiences in the world more magical than sharing a massive meal, with more close friends than can be counted on two hands, cool Pennsylvania creek water rushing around your ankles as you do so.
Here’s a lovely sample from PA Eats’ writeup, and be sure to check out the full article right here!
On the food at this year’s Creek Dinner:
The food at the first few years of Creek Dinners was room temperature picnic-type food, prepared by Tongg and her friends. But for the last two years, she’s had Chef Andre de Waal, of Andre’s Lakeside Dining in Sparta, New Jersey, on board. This year, he was joined by additional chefs, Mike Carrino and Brandon Grimila (of 403 Broad and Hotel Fauchere in Millford, PA). They decided to have three chefs for the event to go along with the kaleidoscope-theme of the dinner (kaleidoscopes work with the use of three mirrors). To create the menu, the trio played a sort of cheffy version of “pass it on.” One chef would start with a vegetable, email that to the next chef, and so on, with each person adding something to the idea in a free form brainstorm session. Then, they divided six dishes up, so each chef would lead in two of the courses.
“I’ve never heard of chefs giving up power like that, but that’s what these dinners are all about, collaborating and working together,” says Tongg. “That was a true collaboration-over-competition exercise, which is not normal for chefs, in my experience.”
To be able to make hot foods, de Waal procured a small metal rowboat and built a fire in it, over which they grilled trout and other foods.
They also created a floating, 42-inch kaleidoscopic hummus and veggie platter right in the middle of the water for grazing.