Virginia’s Hunt Country Restaurants and Piedmont Region Food Producers To Participate in Second Annual Celebrate the Harvest Week, September 25 – October 4

Middleburg, VA, Sept. 25-Oct. 4 — During the last week of September, the restaurants of Virginia’s Hunt Country will recognize the year’s bountiful harvest by offering special dishes on their menus featuring fresh and local produce, meats, cheeses, wines and other edibles. The “Celebrate the Harvest Week” aims to bring together local farmers, vintners and food artisans with the area’s restaurateurs, who are excited to showcase locally produced goods. The campaign is part of an ongoing cooperative effort to promote local, fresh and seasonal foods.

Restaurateurs and producers are aiming to work together over the coming months to promote the Piedmont region’s excellent foods and create more of a market for the “farm-to-table” concept. The restaurants and farms hope the effort to use more local products will help their clients understand the importance of knowing where their foods come from and eat more local, seasonal and fresh foods.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Celebrate the Harvest, which highlighted two weekends later in the Fall, this year’s event is being held earlier in the season and has been expanded to include restaurants in Middleburg, Upperville, and The Plains, Va. Over the past year, public awareness of the quality of mass-produced food and environmental issues surrounding food production has been raised significantly by the release of movies, including Food, Inc. and Fresh, numerous food safety scares and multiple congressional hearings on food safety. In addition, the economic downturn has forced more people to cook and eat at home.

By bringing together regional food producers and chefs, “Celebrate the Harvest Week” hopes to bring more people into restaurants to support local businesses and learn more about the options available to them. “Many of the products that will be used by the chefs during this week are available to consumers at their local farmers’ markets, or directly from the farms through a simple visit or a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program, Alyson Browett, owner of Edible Complex, LLC, and an organizer of the event, said. She added, “We’d like consumers to realize the nutritional, economic and environmental benefits of eating locally produced foods and begin demanding more of it in their favorite restaurants and grocery stores.”

According to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s agricultural sector currently generates $2.69 billion in business annually. However, according to a study conducted by the Virginia Cooperative Extension, if every household in the state spent $10 each week on local produce, that number would grow by $1.65 billion a year.

Call your favorite Middleburg, Upperville or The Plains restaurant to inquire about specials or to make a reservation. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are recommended.

Annie's 540-687-4754
Back Street Cafe 540-687-3122
Blackthorne Inn & Restaurant 540-592-3848
The Coach Stop 540-687-5515
Forlano’s Market 540-253-5456
The French Hound 540-687-3018
Girasole 540-253-5501
The Goodstone Inn 877-219-4663
Hidden Horse Tavern 540-687-3828
Home Farm 540-687-8882
Hunter’s Head Tavern 540-592-9020
Market Salamander 540-687-8011
Mello Out 540-687-8635
The Rail Stop 540-253-5644
Red Fox Inn 540-687-6301

Visit us online or follow us on Facebook at the Celebrate the Harvest group for news and events surrounding the week.

For additional information regarding Celebrate the Harvest Week, story ideas, or interviews, please contact:

Alyson Browett, Owner Edible Complex, LLC
Moderator, Middleburg Restaurant Symposium
abrowett@gmail.com
540-764-0711

Marny Birkitt, Co-Owner
The French Hound Restaurant
Restaurant Representative, Middleburg Business and Professional Association
540-687-3018

Cindy Pearson, Economic Development Coordinator
Town of Middleburg
economicdevelopment@middleburg.org
540-687-5152

 

The Middleburg Business and Professional Association, the Middleburg Office of Economic Development and community members founded the Middleburg Restaurant Symposium in August 2008 to explore how local restaurants and producers can work together to take advantage of the region’s abundant fruits, vegetables, wines and culinary talents. The symposium aims to increase the understanding of the “fresh, local and seasonal” motto and how it has become a larger part of customer preference; develop relationships with local farmers, vintners, and meat producers; expand customer base; and use different marketing strategies to sustain and expand clientele and promote a “taste of Piedmont.”