Edible Delmarva: Early Summer 2019
If you are lucky enough to live at the beach or near the water, the arrival of summer feels like coming home. It’s time to take a deep breath and fill our hearts and souls with the warmth that comes with the change in season. It’s a chance to celebrate how we are connected to the land, the community, the region, and – most importantly – to each other.
Rarely does success come from solo effort. Success requires connection: to our mentors and cheerleaders, our strengths and challenges, our milestones and our failures. Behind every “overnight success” is years of trial and error and a steadfast commitment to the dream.
Like chefs Scott Stein and Antimo DiMeo of Wilmington’s Bardea, whose James Beard nod as Best New Restaurant comes after years of hard work and a singular focus. Or Doug Rae, who fell in love with bread-baking early on and set a course to learn all he could from others before opening Evergrain Baking Company in Chestertown.
Connections to the past also hold important insights for our lives today. Just ask Dr. Bill Schindler, of Washington College’s Eastern Shore Food Lab, who is passionate about researching, teaching, and preserving traditional foodways (think prehistoric-nutrient-requirements meet modern-culinary-techniques). He’s going beyond engaging students and academic colleagues, to inspiring a whole community to learn about foraging, fermenting, and food ecosystem health. Or ask Cathy Branciaroli, who came across a 1911 Wilmington Friends Community Cookbook, when scratch cooking with local seasonal ingredients was the norm. She and Chef Robert Lhulier took inspiration from a crabmeat dish in the 118-year old tome and created a light and savory souffle that honors the past with a modern twist.
So take some time this season to make new connections. With your farmers at the market and your watermen at the fish house. With the chefs and bakers and brewers whose passion for their craft inspires us. With the artisans and teachers and shop owners who continue to travel their own path to success. With the visitors who come here because they know what we have is pretty special. Because you just never know where a connection might take you.
Here’s to a joyous summer!
