GRAFTON — The Grafton Inn is whipping up a tasty itinerary for its fifth annual Grafton Food Festival.
Set for Saturday, July 8, the rain-or-shine event pays homage to Vermont with food and spirit samplings from over 35 local vendors. Between tastings, the festival features a children's culinary competition, a new cooking class with celebrity chef Sara Moulton, and a new beer and cheese pairing hosted by 14th Star Brewing and Grafton Cheese.
The flavorful festivities simmer into the evening with a special four-course dinner prepared from Sara's Home Cooking 101.
“We're thrilled to welcome Sara Moulton back again this year. In addition to her own demonstration, she'll even be joining our chef, Cal Hingston, for a new culinary class,” said Angela Comstock, Innkeeper of the Grafton Inn, in a news release. “The festival overall is getting bigger and better each year. This summer, we're welcoming over 35 vendors - up from 22 last year - and we're seeing a perfect pairing of food and spirits in the selection.”
Beginning at 10 a.m., a collection of Vermont vendors such as Sidehill Farm, TrueNorth Granola, Citizen Cider, and Stonecutter Spirits, will welcome foodie fans to a dazzling display of local preserves, syrups, sauces, meats, ciders, and more under the all-weather tent.
Two local food trucks will be on-site and the Inn will fire up a barbecue in the courtyard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
At 10:30 a.m., a Children's Culinary Competition will pit five teams tasked with preparing a mac 'n' cheese dish using local ingredients and Grafton Village Cheese.
New to this year's lineup is a 12:30 p.m. culinary class with Moulton and Hingston. Tickets for the class are $30 and can be reserved in advance by calling 802-843-2252.
Additional food demonstrations will be held by food writer Molly Stevens at 2:30 p.m. and Moulton at 4 p.m. The festival wraps up with the Beer & Cheese Pairing event from 5 to 6 p.m.
Festival goers are encouraged to save their appetites for a four-course dinner in the Old Tavern Dining Room at 6:30 p.m.
Hingston and his team will serve a menu prepared from Sara's Home Cooking 101 including broccoli carpaccio with sliced avocados and broccoli stalk salad, barley with clam sauce topped with sautéed bread crumbs, grilled pork tenderloin, and a hazelnut-almond dacquoise. The dinner is priced at $70 per person (plus tax and gratuity).