They say we eat with our eyes, and that concept gets a fresh twist at the American Craft Council Show April 15-17 at RiverCentre in St.Paul, where Twin Cities bakers will display cakes inspired by a particular piece of art. Among them will be creations from Casey's Cake on a Stick, Celebration Generation Cakes, Cocoa & Fig, Jessica's Cakes, Queen of Cakes, Sweets Bakeshop, and the Cake Diva. Minnesota will have 43 artists in this tightly juried show of craftspeople from the United States and Canada. Discounted tickets for $5 after 5 p.m. are on sale for a preview party April 15. For complete ticket info and times, visit public.craftcouncil.org/stpaul.
Farm to Table in Stillwater Savories Bistro in Stillwater is partnering with the Minnesota Food Association to host a "Farm to Table" dinner at 6 p.m. Friday. The three-course dinner will feature organic fare raised by local providers and farmers. Proceeds benefit Harvest for the Hungry, a partnership with community-supported agriculture farms to provide produce to Minnesota households in need. The dinner is $55 ($35 of which is tax-deductible.) To make a reservation, call Savories Bistro at 651-430-0702 or visit www.savoriesbistro.com.
Tiny Footprint expands Betting that good karma makes good coffee, many of the Kowalski's Markets in the Twin Cities now are selling Tiny Footprint Coffee, carbon-negative local roasters who promise to plant trees in Ecuador -- 54 pounds of trees, to be exact, offsetting the 4 pounds of carbon that it takes to produce a pound of coffee. The leftover 50 pounds is chalked up to "good karma." Tiny Footprint Coffee was launched a year ago through a joint partnership between two Minneapolis companies, Roastery 7 and Pocket Hercules. By year's end, the company announced that it would plant 2,000 trees in Ecuador's Mindo Cloudforest, and says it would like to triple that amount for 2011. To learn more, visit www.tinyfootprintcoffee.com.
Chocolate's a winner The Bloomington Fine Arts Council passed along the names of winners of its recent Taste of Chocolate competition and benefit, which included 13 chocolatiers from Minnesota and Wisconsin. The best chocolate dessert title went to chef Darcia Nunes of Edina's Patisserie Margo with her "Sofya," a dome-shaped dessert with flavors of apricot, honey and saffron. The best confection nod went to Kevin Lindee of Ganache: Truffles for Every Occasion in Columbia Heights for his chocolates flavored with pineapple and cilantro. The people's choice award went to Eagan's Pardon My French Cafe and Wine Bar's dessert, a feuillantine chocolate cake. Congrats to all.
