24 • Thursday, July 24, 2014
food
OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
Vestavia Chef Launches Copper Pot Kitchen Olive Oil By Donna Cornelius
Journal features writer
Copper Pot Kitchen, the brainchild of Vestavia Hills chef Ashley Tarver, is launching its olive oil nationwide. Copper Pot Kitchen products include four infused olive oil selections: Honey Balsamic, Lemon Rosemary, Roasted Garlic and Spicy Chile. Now sold in Whole Foods stores and gourmet specialty shops, the line expanded online and in select retail outlets last month. In the Birmingham area, Copper Pot products are available at Whole Foods, Organic Harvest, Western Supermarket, Alabama Goods and Contri Brothers. During her travels abroad, company founder Ashley Tarver said she saw olive oils in many forms, from soap and lotions to salad dressings. Tarver studied the historical importance and use of olive oil in Greece, Italy and Turkey before creating her own flavors. From Malaysia and Spain to Morocco, she has eaten with the locals and worked with some of the best chefs in the world at three Michelin-starred restaurants. The Copper Pot products can be used for dipping, marinades, salad dressings and finishing oils. The most common uses include drizzling over fresh salad greens, marinating
meats and vegetables or serving with a fresh baguette, according to Tarver. “Great food doesn’t have to be complicated,” Tarver said. “You can travel the world from the comfort of your own kitchen and transform the mundane into the magnificent, one drizzle at a time.” Copper Pot Kitchen participates in Committed To Give, a new way for consumers to responsibly choose their food products by choosing a company that is committed to giving back. Copper Pot Kitchen selected The Villalobos Rescue Center pet rescue organization as its charity of choice. Starting in the fall of 2014, consumers will be able to look for the Committed To Give label on food items to choose a product made by a company that is committed to a cause. Bottled in Tucker, Ga., Copper Pot Kitchen olive oils retail from $12.99$14.99. The company is headquartered in Birmingham. Cooks can find ideas for using the olive oils at the company’s website, www.copperpotkichen.com. Recipes there include Honey Balsamic Pork Tenderloin, Spicy Chile Shrimp, Lemon Rosemary Chicken, Cast Iron Roasted New Potatoes and more. ❖
Dining Out at a Discount Birmingham Restaurant Week Set for Aug. 15-24
During her travels abroad, company founder Ashley Tarver, above, said she saw olive oils in many forms, from soap and lotions to salad dressings. Copper Pot Kitchen products include four infused olive oil selections: Honey Balsamic, Lemon Rosemary, Roasted Garlic and Spicy Chile. Photos special to the Journal
3Find Copper Pot Kitchen’s Garlic Citrus Shrimp with Grilled Hearts of Palm recipe at otmj.com
Fresh New Projects
Urban Cookhouse Partners with Farmers, Opens New Store By Donna Cornelius
Journal features writer
Andrea Snyder of Urban Cookhouse with Randy Melvin of Southern Oaks Farm at the Crestline Farmers Market last week. Journal photo by Maury Wald
Urban Cookhouse is expanding in more ways than one. With a recent new location in Crestline, Urban Cookhouse now owns and operates three stores in the Birmingham area. Other restaurants are in downtown Homewood and at The Summit. Urban Cookhouse also has recently established new relationships and signed agreements with more local farmers. This year, Urban Cookhouse has increased the amount of produce it’s buying locally through its direct relationships with farms including Southern Oaks Farm, Vanzandt Farm, Smith Heritage Farm and Harvest Farm. Relationships with local buyers have also increased through Urban Cookhouse’s growing agreement with Urban Food Project, which includes Southern Oaks Farm, Hamm Farm, Hunter Organic Farm, Witt Farm, WE Community Gardens and Dede Garfrerick’s Farm, Vanzandt Farm, Smith Heritage Farm and Harvest Farm. In addition, Urban Cookhouse purchased 1,000 gallons of Harvest Farm strawberries this year in order to meet the growing consumer demands the
restaurant has year round for its specialty strawberry lemonade. “We have changed the way we farm because of the way we have implemented new techniques that allow year-round farming,” Randy Melvin of Southern Oaks Farm said. “We have gone from being seasonal to now year round with the help of Urban Cookhouse and enjoy being part of the Urban Cookhouse Family.” Ruthanne Atkinson, Urban Cookhouse’s food and beverage manager, said the restaurant is standing behind its slogan—Buy Local. Eat Urban—on “a much broader scale now.” “It makes my job as a restaurant manager very rewarding to be able to have a real impact helping local farms,” Atkinson said. Throughout the summer, each Urban Cookhouse location will showcase local vendor partners at its weekly farmers markets. The Homewood market in SoHo Square is open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon. The Summit market is open on Thursdays from 2-6 p.m. The Crestline market is open on Wednesdays from 4-8 p.m. To see Urban Cookhouse’s recipe for a veggie quesadilla featuring the fresh ingredients available locally, visit otmj.com. ❖
Chef Frank Stitt’s three restaurants are among the 25 eateries already signed up to offer discounted dishes during the fifth annual Birmingham Restaurant Week. Culinary Set for Aug. Community 15-23, the event News and is expected to Events include about 50 restaurants, organizers said. Last year, 43 restaurants participated. Birmingham Restaurant Week spotlights the city’s culinary culture by offering incentives for Birminghamarea residents to revisit their favorite restaurants or to try new venues. Restaurants already committed to BRW 2014 include Ocean, 26, Century Restaurant and Bar, Highlands Bar & Grill, Bottega, Chez Fonfon, Vino, Silvertron Café, The Wine Loft, Dixie Fish Co., The Pantry by Stone Hollow and Primeaux Cheese and Vino. Restaurants will offer special two and/or three-course fixed-price lunch and/or dinner menus in the $5, $10, $20 and $30 per person range during the 10-day event. Several restaurants will also include brunch. Some restaurants will offer beer and/or wine components, giving diners a selection for sampling, and other drink specials. Restaurant Week is organized by REV, a Birmingham economic development organization. “We are pleased to offer this opportunity to residents of Birmingham and to the restaurants that serve our community,” said James Little, BRW director and district manager of REV. “It is our hope that this 10-day event will draw attention to the top-notch locallyowned dining opportunities right here in Birmingham.” Little said similar promotions in Atlanta, New York and San Diego have helped revitalize restaurant business in those cities. BRW will deliver real-time updates to the community via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. The BRW “Free Food Friday” contest on Facebook will resume this year, allowing some Facebook fans to receive gift certificates to a BRW participating restaurant each Friday. BRW will also use frequent e-blasts, the BRW blog and website at www. bhamrestaurantweek.com and the BRW Mobile Site Dining Guide, a new addition to BRW last year. “Users will know where to eat in the ‘Ham this year and will have all the details right at their fingertips simply by bookmarking the mobile site to their smart phones,” Little said.