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NATALIE MIKLES World Scene Writer
04/27/2005
Tulsa World (Final Home Edition), Page D1 of Food

Chef partners with area farmers and food producers to create Oklahoma dinner

Chef James Shrader can’t wait until May 10. That’s the day he plans to make the best meal of his life.

“It’s really exciting. It will definitely be one of the top five meals I’ve ever cooked,” he said.

Shrader, chef at the Palace Cafe, will host what is being called Tulsa’s first Local Foods Dinner in partnership with Sustainable Tulsa and local farmers and food producers.

Oklahoma-made foods are already part of the menu at the Palace Cafe, 1301 E. 15th St., but Shrader will take it further by featuring an Oklahoma-only menu.

The fact that the dinner is an anomaly is interesting in itself. Those who grew up on Oklahoma farms can remember regularly eating dinners in which everything on the table came from the farm.

Shrader hopes to take people back to those days, but with a nouveau flair. After all, shiitake Thai sticks don’t exactly sound like farm food.

Emily Oakley of Three Springs Farms is among the farmers participating in the Local Foods Dinner.

She said she knew Shrader would be a good collaborator for the dinner because he has such an appreciation for food fresh from the field. Oakley said it’s always fun to watch Shrader, in his chef’s uniform, walk across the street from his restaurant to the Cherry Street Farmers’ Market. He often buys fresh fruits and veggies that make it to his restaurant’s chalkboard menu within a few hours.

“If I could do this every day, I would. I aspire to do that, but it’s not always economically feasible,” Shrader said.

Shrader finds inspiration from Alice Waters, a revolutionary in the sustainable and local foods movement. Waters’ Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, is known for its menu of fruits and vegetables right out of the dirt and meats straight from the farm.

Shrader’s dinner would make Waters proud.

The dinner will begin with bentos, a term derived from the Japanese bento box, which holds several small (one or two bites) dishes. The vegan-friendly bento is a roasted terrine of local vegetables, grilled and smoked, and then presented in a chilled terrine with vegetable aspic.

The starter, a little heartier than the bento, will be shiitake Thai sticks — thin egg rolls filled with shiitake mushrooms, ginger, garlic and scallions. Everything in the egg rolls is from local farmers’ gardens. The same goes for the local harvest salad, which will be served with a garlic vinaigrette.

Diners will have a choice of entree, either a spring vegetable tian (a French word referring to a Provence-style mixed vegetable gratin) layered with beef carpaccio, wild mushrooms, Swiss chard and black rice. The dish will be served with a roasted fennel puree and arugula pesto. The other dinner option will be braised short ribs served over a grilled vegetable ratatouille.

For dessert, Shrader will take advantage of the season’s first pick of strawberries in a strawberry soup with homemade vanilla bean ice cream.

Even the drinks — down to the water — are locally inspired. Wines from area vineyards, herbal teas featuring locally grown herbs and water from a local spring will be served.

To help promote the work of local growers, diners will be handed a file with the contact names and information for each of the producers and farmers who contributed to the local foods dinner.

Proceeds from the dinner will go toward creating a green directory — a listing of area environmentally friendly services and resources, which will include a foods section with area growers and producers, as well as outlets for organic foods.

Rita Scott of the nonprofit group Sustainable Tulsa said the group wanted to be involved with the Local Foods Dinner to encourage people to support the local economy, meet their local growers and to taste the difference of Oklahoma-grown foods.

Reservations for the dinner, 6:30 p.m. May 10, are required. Tickets are available for $50 per person. To purchase tickets, call 640-5408.

Natalie Mikles 581-8486
natalie.mikles@tulsaworld.com

Related Photos & Graphics

A steak dish, cheeses and basket of veggies from the Palace Cafe.
MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World