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Salmonberry Contest 2022 Saturday evening and a Special Cooking Class with Kirsten Dixon Sunday morning! A 2-Day Event!
by Jenny Chissus
So exciting to be welcoming Kirsten and Mandy Dixon and Valerie Granath as our judges for the competition this year! Seldovia is known for great salmonberries, and many folks have never tried anything but jams or cakes – and our competition has brought amazing talent out of the woodwork! From Sunni’s salmonberry cake and Peggy & Jen’s ice cream, Marcia’s wine to Liane’s chipotle, we have had some incredibly inventive and delicious entries!
The berries are here – so you have a week to pick, plan, prepare and get ready to present your entry by 6pm at the Boardwalk Hotel Saturday night! Besides being a lot of fun, there are prizes for each category as well as a People’s Choice award!
The basic rules:
* Bring your entry to The Boardwalk Hotel restaurant between 6:00pm and 6:30pm
* Recipe MUST include salmonberries
* Please present your entry with a NAME
* You may enter more than one item
* Each entry must have enough to share with 3 judges. It is nice to have extra as we will open a table for public sampling after the judges have tasted each entry. Folks in the audience get to taste these treats and we will have a People’s Choice award!
* You must pick either SWEET or SAVORY category for each entry
* The judges will be rating the entries on appearance/presentation, texture & taste (scale of 1-10)
Check-in your entries and grab a seat and enjoy dinner at the Boardwalk! This is a fun evening, and we thank the Boardwalk Hotel and their entire staff for helping to make the event a success! A lot is going on and it is a great time!
Foraged and Gathered Course Sunday Morning
Sunday morning August 14, 2022, from 9:00am to 10:30am
This is a very special event added this year! A COOKING COURSE with Kirsten Dixon!
If you have ever had the pleasure of taking a cooking class at Tutka Bay Lodge with Kirsten or Mandy and their staff – you know what a treat this is, that they are offering this intimate class right here in Seldovia!
Featured Dish: Seafood tagine prepared with wild edibles from Alaska and spices from Morocco!
You’ll have the opportunity to meet Hicham Hnini, chef at Tutka Bay Lodge, and Timothy Crockett, Executive Chef, and forager for Within the Wild Adventure Company. They will share with you, along with Kirsten Dixon, secrets of their rustic and refined regional cuisine.
Learn how to cook with tagine over a live fire or portable stove and hear the story of how Hicham and Kirsten met on a desert camel farm in Morocco and how he came to live in Alaska.
Kirsten will prepare her version of salmorejo – a cold Spanish tomato soup that is a lodge summer favorite. Tomatoes, cider vinegar, croutons, and smoked salmon make a simple and delicious soup.
The team will also have their cookbooks available for sale.
The cost for this course will be $25.00 per person – all fees are being generously donated to the Seldovia Fire and EMS Department! Thank you Kirsten, Hicham and Timothy! Space is limited and so please contact/text Jenny Chissus at 907-406-0044 to reserve your seat! The class will begin promptly at 9:00am, so please honor this very special event by showing up a few minutes early to settle in and be ready to begin! So thrilled that Kirsten and her team are willing to share their time and expertise with us!
Look! The Salmonberries are back!
UPDATE: August 3, 2021.
Unfortunately, we have decided to postpone this great event! Due to the increased concerns around protocols protecting the health of locals and visitors alike, we have determined that an event focused on food, created in multiple locations and by many individuals, does not have the control necessary for all to feel safe. Our two guest judges have promised that they will do all they can to return next year. So please, save your recipes, and enthusiasm, and pick all these gorgeous berries as they truly are here this year in great abundance! The prizes are bought, all the plans are in place, we will have a wonderful celebration in 2022! So very sorry to disappoint those who are planning their winning entries – but we’ll be back next year!
A crazy thing, but even the salmonberries were no where to be found last year! No buds, no pink flowers (and you know how much I love pink flowers!) and therefore, no berries! So, 2020 didn’t see a Sweet and Savory Salmonberry competition! But the berries are back and so is our fantastic Salmonberry competition! We will continue with the two inspiring categories, Sweet and Savory and we are so looking forward to your incredible, creative and tasty entries! The event and judging will happen outdoors, on the deck (pray for sunshine!) usually under the Boardwalk Hotel’s tented area! One of the highlights of the night is being able to sample these amazing treats, so, when the judging is completed of each entry, we will be passing out samples on individual plates to interested guests who are dining! We will not be having a buffet line as we’ve had in the past.
There are really no specific rules, other than the item has to have salmonberries in it! Obviously, there are judging categories that each entry will be graded on, and we wanted to share them with you this year!
1) Texture (from un-appealing to sublime)
2) Taste (from gag-worthy to mouth-watering)
3) Salmonberry theme (from “where are the berries?” to “I didn’t know salmonberries tasted this good!”)
4) Presentation (from un-appealing to restaurant worthy)
Speaking of judges! We are thrilled to have Kirsten and Mandy Dixon back again this year as our Celebrity judges! Kirsten and her husband Carl own and operate two very beautiful resorts in Alaska – Within the Wild Adventure Lodges! One of their properties is right in our neighborhood on the south side of Kachemak Bay- Tutka Bay Lodge which enjoys beach activities and the beauty of the ocean and the other resort, Winterlake Lodge is at the entrance of the Alaska range along the Iditarod trail. In addition to working in the lodges, Mandy has her own restaurant right on the Homer Spit, La Baleine where she serves the freshest and most organic Alaskan food possible! We are thrilled that they are here again to share in this great event! Kirsten and Mandy also just came out with a brand new cookbook, Living Within The Wild, which is literally a piece of art and storybook all in one! And the beauty of this book? Following Mandy and Kirsten’s recipes, you too, can create incredible dishes designed by two master chefs, internationally known for their Alaskan flare! I’m hopeful they will be bringing a few cookbooks with them to sell and I’m sure they would love to sign them for you as well!
We are that Suzie Stranik, our local chef and gourmet food magician has honored us as our third judge this year! Besides loving to cook and having the ability to make delicious food, (even in large group quantities as a caterer) Suzie makes everything beautiful! From her gardens, to her salads to her artful hats – Suzie breathes beauty! We are excited to have her sitting at our judges table this year – though we’re sad that she won’t have an entry this year, as we look always enjoy her culinary creations!
Here’s all the info you need to know about our competition Summer 2021!
1) Please bring your entry to the Boardwalk Hotel between 5:30pm and 6:30pm on Saturday, AUGUST 7, 2021
2) There must be enough for three judges to sample
3) There must be salmonberry ingredients! Obviously!
4) Please have a NAME for your entry – and a DESCRIPTION (some ingredients, but don’t give it all away!)
5) You may enter multiple times in each category!
6) There are two categories, SWEET & SAVORY. You must choose ONE category per entry.
7) Please label your dishes/serving utensils so that we’re sure to get them back to you
8) We cut up the remaining items and share with the spectators, which has been a really fun part of the event, so please feel free to bring enough of your entry to share with some of the crowd – as we do have a People’s Choice award!
9) There are prizes, and local fame! 🙂
This event is sponsored and hosted by The Boardwalk Hotel and Seldovia Property. We are so looking forward to seeing all the delicious entries this year! Come dine at the Boardwalk and taste some treats and get a few autographs and purchase a new cookbook! 🙂
Seldovia Time
