“Why wouldn’t we?” That’s the question Patrick Brys posed when discussing the inaugural Traverse City Food & Wine event, to be held Aug. 20-24. With a host of wineries, a large batch of wonderful restaurants and award-winning chefs, idyllic freshwater surroundings, and huge agricultural chops, why not, indeed?It’s time, says Brys, to create a topnotch event that honors Traverse City’s best culinary delights.
Hour Detroit magazine regular contributor Megan Swoyer sat down with Brys, president and CEO of Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery in Traverse City (the fifth winery to be established on Old Mission Peninsula), and Whitney Waara, chief operating officer of Traverse City Tourism and Traverse City Food & Wine event director, to learn more about the ingredients going into the first-ever salute to regional yum. Brys is also on the event committee and is a board member of Traverse City Tourism and the Michigan Travel Commission.
Hour Detroit: Launching a big festival has to be a bit daunting. What drove you to do this and how did you manage to get so many participants on board?
Patrick Brys: This area has such an agricultural abundance, the decision to do it was a no brainer. Michigan and its Great Lakes region rank second in the United States [for] agricultural diversity. We can grow more diverse items than any other state, except California. This event is a natural fit with the community. We knew it would eventually happen.
Whitney Waara: The time is here. If we’re going to attract people to visit the area, we have to think about what our assets are and how they differentiate us from other destinations. We talked to various businesses and so many were anxious to participate. More businesses and people bought in to this than we anticipated! We’re excited that 4Front Credit Union is our main sponsor.
Five days is a long festival. How did organizers land on the duration and the month?
WW: August is peak harvesting season for a lot of fruits and vegetables. And we needed several days because we’re hosting so much, including bringing in guest chefs, throwing more than 70 events throughout the area, and putting on a huge core event called the Grand Tasting. There will be food and wine at almost every offering.
Tell me more about that Grand Tasting.
WW: It runs Aug. 23 from noon-4 p.m. at the Open Space Park, which is located in downtown Traverse City, set right against West Grand Traverse Bay. We plan to sell up to 2,000 tickets!
I believe there are some 50 wineries along the Traverse Wine Coast, including on Old Mission and Leelanau Peninsulas. How many wineries plan to participate in the Grand Tasting?
WW: Over half the area’s wineries, along with local brewers and cideries, plus many more will be involved in events throughout the week beyond the Grand Tasting.
What does your chef line-up look like?
WW: We have celebrity chefs and guest chefs from around the United States and Michigan. Many celebrity chefs actually have ties to the Midwest and Michigan. Local chefs in the TC area, who deserve a ton of recognition, will also be involved. We have our headliner, Food Network veteran Tyler Florence; culinarian and TV judge Mei Lin; Celina Tio (think Top Chef Masters and Iron Chef America); Sarah Welch, whose Marrow restaurant (in Detroit) was voted a semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant in the country by the James Beard Foundation in 2019; and Antoni Porowski, New York Times bestselling author for his cookbook, Let’s Do Dinner, to name just a few.
What’s a local tie-in with a celebrity chef that many wouldn’t be aware of?
WW: Tyler Florence, during his early culinary career, worked for Grand Traverse Resort!
PB: And there’s Chef Jennifer Blakeslee, a James Beard nominee and co-chef/owner of The Cooks’ House restaurant in Traverse City. She’s a native of Traverse City but she actually earned a Michelin Star at Andre’s French Restaurant in Las Vegas. During the festival, you can see her at a Chef’s Table (a fine dining meal prepared by five Michigan chefs) and at a cooking demonstration featuring fresh goods from the farmers market.
What are some of the events you predict will be popular?
WW: The Chef’s Table event where you get to dine with five renowned chefs. Also, there are in-depth wine-maker tours, conversations with chefs hosted by the National Writers Series, the celebrity chef demonstrations and tastings, and there’s even a chocolate tasting and a vanilla blending class at Blush on the rooftop of Alexandra Inn. We’ve also got the former editor-in-chief of Wine Spectator Susan Kostrzewa here offering side by side comparisons of some of the most popular cool-climate vintages grown in the region, as well as a fun food and wine pairing seminar. And the Higher Art Gallery will have some live painting demos going on during the Grand Tasting.
With all the water here, will anything take place aboard a boat?
WW: There are several opportunities to enjoy a sail on the bay, whether you’d like to enjoy lunch cooked aboard a tall ship (the Manitou), set sail on the Wind Dancer with a renowned chef and cookbook author (Abra Berens) to learn more about how the Great Lakes impacts local agriculture, wines, and the food scene, or you might prefer a fun and relaxing wine sail aboard the Nauticat.
What would you consider an unusual event?
WW: Goat Yoga, with Wine!
PB: We have aromatherapy blending classes, with wine, in our secret garden at Brys Estate. There will be lots of craft beverage offerings and demos, too, as there are many distilleries in the area.
What’s a good event for music lovers?
PB: Definitely Jazz at Sunset with Chateau Chantal. There’s also a deejay event on the rooftop of Indigo (a hotel). That’s where Chef Omar Anani from Saffron De Twah in Detroit will be with wines and unique cocktails.
With all this food and wine, will there be special cookbooks or recipes available for the public?
WW: During the Grand Tasting, guests will find a small, curated storefront with limited merchandise and several cookbooks from the chefs and authors at the event; book signings will be available.
Share with me a Michigan wine grape stat that readers might not know.
PB: Pinot Noir is the most planted red grape varietal in the state. Riesling is the number one planted white grape varietal, and the number one planted grape in the state overall.
More than 70 events at the Traverse City Food & Wine event are ticketed. Learn more at get tickets at traversecityfoodandwine.com.
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