Flavor Fest highlights shared Culpeper kitchen, small businesses

Local Flavor Fest attendee tops their smoked chicken with local apple butter barbecue from Grandpa Foods.  By Camden Little

https://www.insidenova.com/culpeper/flavor-fest-highlights-shared-culpeper-kitchen-small-businesses/article_e31e7cbd-4a53-4d13-918c-8558404748e3.html

The Carver Food Enterprise Center, a shared-use kitchen in Culpeper's Carver Center dedicated to strengthening the local food system through its kitchen space, hosted its first Flavor Fest on March 16 with lots of delicious samples.

Attendees sampled food from 11 food businesses that use the Carver kitchen for production, including Da G Spot, PBmadewithlove, and Muffs Sweet Treats.

In addition to the support for small food businesses, the kitchen creates healthy meals from donated food for local food banks and provides job skills training in partnership with Virginia Cooperative Extension through its Feeding500 program, which has made over 10,000 servings from rescued food to date.

Carver Food Enterprise Center Program Director Gretchen Ledmor leads a group on a kitchen tour, showcasing the work the nonprofit does.

The event was part open house, part food festival and part fundraiser, featuring 11 local food vendors who use the kitchen space, cooking demonstrations, kitchen tours and a silent auction.

Chef David with Refresh Kitchen prepares for his cooking demonstration- laughing with Whitt Ledford of Cair Paravel Farm & Lodgings.

The event raised over $6,000, selling out of the 100 tickets available. The funds will go towards future food rescue events and incubation services.