Modern Farmer • 15th June 2023

Prospective Farmers Face Big Barriers to Entry. This Apprentice Program Wants to Set a New Standard

Sam Rose is worried about the future of farming. The farmer with Four Corners Community Farm in Red Hook, NY points to the rate of aging farmers and the number of farms decreasing due to consolidation. “At some point, I think if we do not get another generation of farmers, we will have difficulty feeding ourselves,” he says.

It’s one of the reasons he signed on to be a mentor farm in the Glynwood Center for Regional Food and Farming’s newly expanded farm apprentice program.

Across the country,

The Cheese Professor • 29th May 2023

How Rachel Lucas Has Crafted a Career in Cheese & Wine

“I feel like I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to do,” says Rachael Lucas, a cheese and wine specialist who calls herself The Cheese Lady. “It’s taken a long time. I’m 45 years old, a total late bloomer, but I just had no idea. I had no direction until cheese.”

Since January 2022, Lucas, based near Woodinville, WA, wine country, has been carving out a niche, supplying area wineries with high-quality cheese for their cheese plates, clubs, cases, and pairings for their releases. She also hosts

The Cheese Professor • 17th April 2023

How Junior's Became the Most Famous Name in Cheesecake

That spontaneous spirit and nimbleness have served Junior’s well since its inception in 1950. From a single restaurant, now its flagship, in Brooklyn, New York, founded by Rosen’s grandfather Harry, the company has grown into four separate businesses under the Junior’s umbrella: five restaurants and outposts, mail order, wholesale, and a fledgling licensing operation with ready to eat food and Junior’s merchandise.

When Rosen joined Junior’s in 1993, he wanted to continue to invigorate the fami

Atlas Obscura • 5th April 2023

This Website Reimagines Cities as Foraging Utopias

When Ethan Welty began brewing cider as a young graduate student at CU Boulder, he was faced with a challenge: finding apples.

It was a unique obstacle for the lifelong forager. As a young child living in France, Welty had foraged for chestnuts and mushrooms in the countryside and he continued the practice as an adolescent after moving back to the United States. But Welty wasn’t used to viewing a city as a source of food.

“You need to flip a switch in your mind to see the space around you diff

Westchester Magazine • 18th March 2023

Ten Homakase Does At-Home Sushi Experiences in Westchester

Take your date night or dinner party to the next level with an at-home, expandable nigiri dinner crafted by an expert sushi chef.

Growing up in a Ukrainian immigrant family with its own food traditions, Max Weiss wanted to understand those of other cultures. That’s why he was intrigued by restaurants, where he could explore entire cultures within four walls.

Weiss was particularly enchanted by sushi counters and the omakase experience. A failed attempt through his sushi-chef network to find on

Alcohol Professor • 9th March 2023

10 Exquisite Elderflower Cocktails to Enjoy Now

When elderflower liqueur burst onto the bar scene in 2007, courtesy of St-Germain (pronounced Sahn-jer-MAHN), this new kind of liqueur with a delicate floral and fruity flavor quickly gained a following. Originally featured in light spring and summer drinks, mixologists and drinkers alike have since discovered the botanical goes well with a variety of liquors and spirits and herbs and spices. This versatility has earned elderflower liqueur a permanent berth on cocktail menus year-round. Here are

The Cheese Professor • 16th January 2023

How Kate Arding Became a Farmhouse Cheese Pioneer

“Of course, I love cheese,” says Kate Arding, cheese monger extraordinaire and one of the foremost authorities on farmhouse cheese. But her simple declaration belies a deeper, more nuanced meaning. “I love what it stands for,” she says. “I love the people who work with it,” says the owner and Director of Operations of specialty food shop Talbott & Arding in bucolic Hudson, New York, her words coming fast. “I love the producers. I love the fact that it's a very collaborative world. I love that it

Westchester Magazine • 20th November 2022

Alan Rosen on Junior's Cheesecake & Life in Westchester

Purchase’s Alan Rosen, the man behind the treasured Junior’s cheesecake empire, dishes on loving the restaurant business.

Alan Rosen opens the door with a warm smile and ushers a visitor into his white center-hall Colonial, set in a leafy Purchase cul-de-sac. Before settling into his spacious office to chat, he offers the visitor a bottle of water and a glass, pointing out the tempting cheese platter he had assembled.

Clearly for Rosen — who runs Junior’s, the iconic cheesecake-and-restaurant

The Cheese Professor • 16th November 2022

Cheese Shops We Love: Cold Spring Cheese Shop

“It's not just so much {that} I love cheese,” says Timothy Haskell, explaining why he decided to open Cold Spring Cheese Shop. “I just love the culture of cheese shops, specifically all the things that are interspersed, gourmet things and things that go with cheese, fun charcuterie platters, the meats, jams, honeys. It usually has the best chips, crackers, and all of those.” An immersive and traditional theater director and events producer who created haunted houses and was one of the founding p

Civil Eats • 3rd May 2022

Farmers Trial Climate-Friendly Chickpeas in Upstate New York

Only a third of factory farms have permits to discharge waste into water, soil, and air. A new legal effort from environmental groups seeks enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

Civil Eats • 25th October 2021

Don Lewis Is Reviving the Grain Economy in New York's Hudson Valley

Only a third of factory farms have permits to discharge waste into water, soil, and air. A new legal effort from environmental groups seeks enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

Plate • 5th December 2021

Dan Kluger's Hopes, Challenges, and Restaurant Predictions for the Year Ahead

I’m not sure what the answer is for restaurants. So many different factors have affected this industry over the past year and a half, and all have been somewhat out of our control. Probably most of us would say we’ve just been trying to survive. Then everybody said, “Congratulations, you survived!” But it feels like we’re just back to the same.

I’ve been wrong about a lot, but the biggest challenge is probably dealing...

Resy | Right This Way • 24th June 2022

Five Upstate New York Restaurants Worth the Trip —

Food and art coalesce at this one-of-a-kind former diner in Hudson, open since 2015. The space, filled with art, light, color, and music, exudes playfulness, as does the vibrant food with Latin American and South Asian origins. Chef-owner Carla Kaya Perez-Gallardo describes the menu and the hospitality at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis as “tropical comfort food.”

The art influence here comes directly from Perez-Gallardo, a three-time James Beard Award nominee, who arrived at cooking by way of making art. Her

VinePair • 13th June 2022

How Investment and Starting Capital Influence Women-Owned Spirits Brands

“We started to look for money,” says Mhairi Voelsgen, recalling her initial attempt to raise capital for a whiskey distillery a decade ago. But when she was told during a pitch session that no one was going to give $3 million to a woman, she knew she would not be able to fund her dream.

The experience was disheartening, says Voelsgen, now founder and CEO of organic botanical distillery BroVo Spirits. A veteran marketing strategist descended from a long line of strong women, Voelsgen says they w

Plate • 18th October 2021

These Owners Made Their NYC Restaurant a B-Corp to Balance Profit and Purpose

When customers tell Michael and Vivian Forte, owners of the New York City trattoria Pisticci, that “there’s such a great feeling” when entering their restaurant, the Fortes immediately deflect the compliment to the people who deserve it. “It's the staff,” Michael says. “To be honest with you, Viv and I are not there at night. If we’re there, we have dinner; we don't manage.”

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InsideHook • 2nd October 2020

Is Farm-to-Table the Future of Craft Brewing?

When you settle onto your counter stool by the window at Sing Sing Kill Brewery (SSKB), your foot may kick one of the large sacks of locally grown grains the cozy craft brewery in Ossining, New York, stores underneath.

Decorated with logos of area malthouses, these sacks demonstrate the goals of owners Eric Gearity and Matt Curtin: to brew beer that reflects New York State’s terroir — using high-quality ingredients, sourced as locally as possible.

The pair opened their brewery, named for the s

Modern Farmer • 21st December 2020

Why Apple Detectives Are Tracking Down Lost Varieties

The phrase “lost and found” is being imbued with fresh meaning thanks to the Lost Apple Project.

Since 2014, the nonprofit organization has found 23 lost or nearly extinct apple varieties. At least 17,000 named varieties were once grown here after early colonists brought apples to America; today, there are just 5,000. The group seeks to identify and preserve heritage apple trees planted before 1920 in the Pacific Northwest.

“The history these old apple trees have is just incredible,” says Dave

Times Union • 30th June 2022

Dirty Dog Farm forges a new path in cattle farming

GERMANTOWN — “We’re partners (with the land),” said Jesse Warner, explaining the philosophy behind Dirty Dog Farm, the cattle farm he runs with Josh Schwab in this Columbia County town. “I’m using the animals to help me adapt to the land to what I need it to be profitable, to be nutritious for the animals and for us.”

Walking the peaceful, abundantly grassy pastures on a brilliantly sunny June day, the men, in their early 30s, are more than happy to expound on how their modern approach — which

My Jewish Learning • 18th March 2021

These Passover Pancake Noodles are Better Than Matzah Balls | The Nosher

Last April, as the pandemic raged in my area, I opened my front door to my dear friend Natalie, who literally threw at me from a distance a plastic sandwich bag containing her family’s cherished Passover tradition: flädla.

Less commonly known than the universally beloved matzah ball, these Passover egg noodles are made from a thin crepe that’s coiled and cut into strips, over which steaming broth is poured. Natalie’s family recipe was handed down from her mother’s tante Ilse, who emigrated from

Times Union • 19th December 2021

Kingston teens produce farm-fresh cookbook

Walking through the now-fallow rows of a tiny farm that forms the centerpiece of the Kingston YMCA Farm Project, an educational urban farm situated on a third of an acre across the street from the Y, 16-year-old Alexander Rios says his work on the farm has changed him.

“Before I started working here, I would definitely stay inside all the time. Never active, just being a slob,” says the soft-spoken teen. He reluctantly began working at the farm when his parents insisted that he get a summer job

Times Union • 23rd September 2021

Crowdsourcing wild apples for hard cider

“It’s super exciting, like treasure hunting,” enthuses Martin Bernstein, explaining the thrill of the chase, foraging for wild apples that are the crucial ingredient in hard cider produced by his aptly-named company, Abandoned Hard Cider. The company, founded in 2017, uses fruit found in abandoned orchards, backyards, roadsides, and trails to ferment the epitome of a beverage with a local terroir.

He looks forward to, and also dreads, the season a little bit because it is intense work, Bernstei

Westchester Magazine • 19th March 2020

How Locally Sourced Grains Are Improving the Westchester Food Industry

The artisan, naturally leavened loaves from LMNOP Bakery are made with flour, water, and salt.


As the locavore movement evolves, area bakers, brewers, and chefs are using Empire State flours and grains to produce healthier, more flavorful foods.

Mirroring the latest trends in the local food movement across the country, Westchester bakers, brewers, and chefs are using regional grains and flours to create distinctive, healthier fare with new and richer flavors.

In colonial times, the Hudson V

Westchester Magazine • 22nd June 2022

Westchester Local Food Project Supports Community and Sustainability

Digging the garden at First Presbyterian Church in Mount Vernon. Courtesy of D.I.G Farm.

The Westchester Local Food Project builds community and a healthy, sustainable, local food system one veggie garden at a time.

“One of the things I realized is that a lot of people are very disconnected from their food and where it comes from,” says Allison Turcan, explaining why she formed the Westchester Local Food Project (WLFP) this past spring.

Turcan aims to change that. The founder of nonprofit D.I

Westchester Magazine • 24th January 2022

Chef Dan Kluger on Cooking for a Living and Life in Westchester

James Beard Award-winning Chef Dan Kluger shares discovering a love of hospitality, along with local, seasonal food.

Acclaimed chef Dan Kluger, owner of Loring Place in Greenwich Village and Penny Bridge in Long Island City, and the author of Chasing Flavor: Techniques and Recipes to Cook Fearlessly, initially planned to study physical therapy.

Fortunately for those who appreciate his distinctive take on seasonal, farm-fresh food — layering textures and flavor, and often combining salty, spicy