Posts by Edible East Bay

  Mark your calendar for the Golden Gate Chapter California Rare Fruit Growers’s Annual Scion Exchange. At the event, gardeners trade scions from heirloom fruit varieties grown in Northern California. The event includes a free grafting class, demos, rootstocks for sale, fruit tasting, and a plant sale. Select from hundreds of varieties to graft onto…

  Oakland based food artisan, teacher, and storyteller Henry Hsu (@eatoramasama) describes his past identities as public health worker, architect, and designer, but food was also a great passion, so he took on a job with Oakland tofu maker Hodo Foods. Like many living in the vast Chinese diaspora, Hsu understood that his Taiwanese heritage…

  November 4, 2023, was a memorable morning at Edible Communities’ annual Edible Institute. None among us—the assembled publishers of regional magazines like Edible East Bay— can forget the exhilarating keynote speech delivered by Steve Sando, founder of the Rancho Gordo bean company. In an hour filled with passion, warmth, and humor, Sando revealed how…

  Will you join us on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, 6–8pm at Revival Bar + Kitchen? This informal and affordable gathering is an easy way for Edible East Bay staff and readers to spend some time together, conversing while enjoying Chef Amy Murray’s warm hospitality and the restaurant’s delicious pizza as described in our Winter…

    Edible East Bay began reporting on California’s Homemade Food Act in 2013, the year after the bill first made it possible for home-based food artisans to unleash their creativity in the marketplace. A decade later, home-based makers are populating pop-up markets all over the state, and some of these venues, like the annual…

  When you pick up a copy of Edible East Bay from a local business each quarter, chances are it got there thanks to PIIKUP, the small local delivery company founded and operated by April Fenall. This unique Oakland-based nonprofit makes a big impact on the lives of the people they hire and train in…

  Tamales are one of the oldest foods in the Americas, dating back to 7,000 BCE. The steamed corn husks wrapped around different deliciously seasoned fillings—from meat, fish, and beans to insects—were an easy-to-carry meal for warriors, hunters, and travelers in ancient civilizations like the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas. They’ve continued to be a popular…

  One of our favorite holiday-season habits is to go out to Malcolm and Karen Bond’s frantoio (olive mill) in Winters for their lively holiday party. We’ve attended in all kinds of weather, but it’s always fun to gather on the patio next to the olive grove where a fire crackles in a huge outdoor…

  Way back in the early years of Edible East Bay, we met the incredibly industrious K. Ruby Blume when she was just starting to create an urban farm in Oakland as the home for her Institute of Urban Homesteading. Years went by and her longing for real farmland took her to Oregon, where she…

  Fun is right there in the name, and the MSSF Fungus Fair promises a day filled to the brim with it. You can count on lots of great hands-on mushroom activities for all ages. Here’s what you’ll find: Displays of 300+ species of locally collected fungi and an ID table where you can bring…

  Here’s a chance to visit one of the wineries covered in our Winter 2024–25 issue story on East Bay Pinot Noir. On Saturday, December 7, noon–5pm at Perfusion Vineyard, 6102 Park Avenue, Richmond, you’ll find wine tasting, live music, artisanal grilled cheese, and 12 local makers selling holiday gifts at the winery’s Pre-holiday Makers…

For most of us, the holidays are about spending time with the people we love and sharing special meals and food together. During the holiday season, between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, more food goes to waste than at any other time of year. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, each year, about 200…

    Support your neighbors and community by partnering with your local food bank and pantries. Each week throughout the holiday season, we’ll highlight a fun new way to lend your support starting with an offer from Emeryville’s Prizefighter Bar. Join in to prevent hunger and ease food insecurity. This week, our highlighted event is…

  Celebrate art and chocolate on Election Day as flying noir moves to a new home. Chocolatier Karen Urbanek will give you a taste of her wares when you show her your “I Voted” sticker or share your tale of voting. Read more about flying noir’s exquisite gourmet chocolates in our Winter 2019 issue. Election…

  In the short film Wrestling the Angel, artist Ann Arnold shares her work and insight as she faces a life-threatening crisis. The film delves into Arnold’s creative process and artistic journey, drawing on visual metaphors from Aesop’s fables and the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel. Rich in metaphor and meaning, her paintings…

A New Law Allows Mobile Farmers’ Markets to Take Payments by WIC Fresh fruits and vegetables are important to a healthy diet, but good access to is not easy for everyone, due to costs and whether a community even has a green grocer open for business. Mobile farmers’ markets help fill the gap. With support…

  Now in its 38th year, the Annual Emeryville Art Exhibition celebrates the city’s art and artists with a dazzling array of works in all media. The public is invited to this annual juried art show, featuring paintings, sculpture, photographs, prints, drawings, ceramics, textiles, and furniture, along with performance art and poetry. The event showcases…

  Ten years ago, Berkeley made history as the first U.S. city to successfully take on Big Soda as the community passed the nation’s first sugary drinks tax with proceeds benefiting healthy equity in our community. The Ecology Center and a broad coalition of community leaders and organizations invite you to a special screening of…

  Do you love fresh local food? The Berkeley Farmers’ Market has a special slice of local for you on September 19 when they guide you on a tour of the North Berkeley Farmers’ Market, where you’ll get to meet the passionate farmers and vendors and discover the sustainable practices that bring fresh, locally grown…

  Celebrate agricultural arts and sustainable living at the 33rd annual Hoes Down Harvest Festival at Full Belly Farm on Saturday, October 5, 2024. The festival opens at 11am and goes full steam with live music and dancing until 11pm. Those who choose to stay and camp out at the farm also get treated to…

  Brentwood’s Smith Family Farm welcomes the community for two popular traditions! The annual Tomato Day on Saturday, September 28 features samples from Bay Area chefs, tomato-themed games and prizes, live music, and food and craft vendors. And the day marks the opening of the Pumpkin Patch, which continues through October 31, 9am to 5pm…

Imagine the San Francisco Ferry Building Grand Hall with unlimited samples of artisan cheeses—plus pairings and drinks—live music, a gorgeous grazing table, and the beautiful views. That’s what you’ll find on Saturday, September 21, 6–9pm, at the 9th Annual SF Cheese Fest. “SF Cheese Fest celebrates our diverse cheese community and the bonds between rural cheesemakers, urban cheesemongers, and…

  Help spread the word! Alameda’s Bay Farm School is seeking to hire a new TK-5 Garden Science teacher for their award-winning garden teaching program. Applicants should be passionate about edible and native gardening. This is a wonderful job opportunity for someone wanting to work with kids within a super-supportive faculty and parent community. For…

This owl knows a healthy environment when she sees one, which is why she resides at Castillo de Canena in Spain, where the Vañó family grows olives and produces extraordinary extra virgin olive oils. “The groves are fully irrigated, creating a natural ecosystem where cultivation is based on a deep respect for the environment and…

  When restaurateur, cookbook author, philanthropist, food journalist, and radio host Narsai David passed away on June 20, 2024, the East Bay lost a light that blazed over our local culinary scene for more than six decades. A few days after Narsai’s passing, local author, artist, and raconteur L. John Harris shared some thoughts on…

  Here are a few options we found for your Bastille Day pleasures: You can impress the staff at Rockridge Market Hall with your marvelous French pronunciation when you ask for PEA-sah-LAH-dee-AIR (pissaladière) or Mool FREET (moule frites), but these are just a couple of the delicieux highlights you’ll find at the market’s Bastille Day…

Creating a plastic-free future is possible only if we change our plastic use habits. Through July, the Berkeley Ecology Center shows us how, with a series of events providing education about plastics and how to avoid them: Perils of Plastic Foodware On Saturday July 13, 11:30am–12:30pm at the Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market, you can learn…

  Urban Farm Oasis (formerly Biofuel Oasis) invites you to come see what your East Bay neighbors are up to in their gardens and urban farms. On this free tour on July 13, 11am–3pm, you’ll learn about water saving techniques and how to keep rabbits, bees, and chickens. You’ll start at the Oasis, where you…

  The Bay Area has blossomed into a thriving hub of seed libraries. It started with the Berkeley Ecology Center’s Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) in 2000. Then Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library, which was founded in 2010, popularized the idea by creating an easy-to-follow model of how to open such a library. The result…

  Who ever thought to match matcha, parsley, or milkweed blossoms with a cupcake or make a savory version for dinner? Cupcakes are a great medium for creativity, as these seven recipes from around the Edible Communities amply demonstrate. You’re sure to find one that inspires you, and nature has plenty of flowers for decoration!…

    Come out to Livermore’s Wente Vineyards on Sunday, May 19, 11:30am–2:30pm for a spring luncheon buffet as the San Francisco Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier holds its Karola Saekel Craib Excellence in Food Journalism Fellowship Celebration. You’ll enjoy award-winning wines plus a lively and provocative conversation about challenges facing our nation’s food supply.…

  When I first dined at Lo Coco’s on Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue in 1984, I was charmed by the two child waitresses who served up our pizza. (Oh… did  I say wine?…) One turned out later to be a snappy good writer, and gosh, how much else I didn’t know was going on there… In…

The 2024 Bay Area Book Festival returns to Berkeley in its 10th anniversary year with panels, readings, and other activities for book lovers of all ages. The fun starts early on May 4 with Family Day and resumes on June 1 and 2 with the anniversary celebration. In order to help Edible East Bay readers…

  Head out to Lafayette on Sunday, April 28 for an afternoon of wine tasting, food, and entertainment as wine growers and winemakers in the Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda area celebrate the anniversary of the Lamorinda appellation. Try award-winning micro batch wines from the Lamorinda Appellation as you taste old favorites from Thal Vineyards, Meadow…

At Edible East Bay, we admire Alice Medrich for her James Beard Award–winning cookbooks, chocolate expertise, and those lovely former Cocolat shops that we used to frequent in Berkeley. For her third act, Alice has been turning toward environmental activism by helping to create new gluten-free and vegan baking mixes with local upcycled ingredient company…

  Have you become intrigued with discovering the flavor sensations of California’s premium extra virgin olive oils? If so, you may yearn for an opportunity to taste them together with experts and makers who can guide you through the different monocultivar flavors and milling styles as you learn what makes each special. Your chance to…

  More than 100 new films are on view at the 27th annual Sonoma International Film Festival, including the short documentary From Kitchen to Community about local restaurant owners. We were excited to hear about the film from Romney Steele, the cook at Oakland’s the Cook and Her Farmer, one of the restaurants in the…

Take two quick actions to help food-insecure consumers and farmers’ markets Act now to save Market Match, a program that helps food-insecure Californians afford more fresh food and incentivizes the purchase of fruits and vegetables. It works like this: a customer who uses $15 of their CalFresh/EBT benefits for groceries at a farmers’ market will get…

By Claire Bradley   In the East Bay’s mild climate, our edible gardens provide us with year-round nourishment. But as gardeners, we can also pay it forward by incorporating native plants that nourish the ecosystem we depend on. It’s common knowledge that adding flowers to a vegetable garden attracts pollinators and beneficial insects, boosting productivity…

The ramifications of new weight loss drugs on the pleasure of the table, the health and food industries, polices, and nutrition. A virtual panel hosted by Les Dames d’Escoffier International San Francisco Chapter Tuesday, March 26, 9:30-11am on Zoom     The San Francisco LDEI chapter hosts a provocative and timely online Table Talk panel…

A perfectly ripe moment for California Artisan Cheese By Cheryl Angelina Koehler   Photo courtesy of the California Artisan Cheese Guild Notwithstanding wine, chocolate, potato chips or (insert your personal obsession here_______), cheese stands alone in its power to tempt. The reason? Well . . .  beyond the obvious pleasures of protein, fat, and salt,…

    Calling all chocolate lovers who also love learning! Come explore the chemistry of chocolate and cocoa as you learn about their hydrophobic (water repelling) nature. This free online event is hosted by Scientific Adventures for Girls and the Lawrence Hall of Science to promote family participation in fun science activities. Elementary students and…

  Join Slow Food East Bay at Korner Oakland in Fruitvale  on Sunday, March 3, 5–8pm, for the next installment of their Cultural Food Traditions Project. The March 3 event features the traditions of Puerto Rico as experienced through the cooking of Chef Manny Rodriguez, a fine-dining chef who is now diving deeper into his…

  Join Chef Bryant Terry, Tofurkey founder Seth Tibbott, and Ashley Kirk of Planted Foods as you discover the magic of plant-based cuisine at the Plant Futures Fest. This plant-fueled culinary adventure and career catalyst is geared for students and early-career professionals looking to meet experts, innovators, and changemakers in the plant-centric food sector. Plant…

  Looking to learn in community about Indigenous foodways, ethnobotany, and cooking? Join environmental educator Maribel Garcia at the Decolonized Kitchen, an hour of connection and reclamation while learning about our native plant relatives one recipe at a time. Enjoy a discussion, a presentation, and a cook-along. Come prepared to take notes and share your…

  Now in its 35th year, Bioneers hosts social and scientific innovators who explore solutions to global environmental and social challenges. As the annual conference returns to Berkeley on March 28–30, it starts out with a pre-conference urban food and farming tour hosted by Bay Area Green Tours. Heading out on Wednesday, March 27, the…

Years ago on a visit to Fez, Morocco, I found myself conveyed along in a crush of people moving through the narrow corridors of the medieval medina. Fearing that I might get tipped into a display of spices at the entrance to one of the cubbyhole shops, I turned my head and found that the…

  An especially hip place to crowd in and swoon over sweets (plus savories and flowers) on Wednesday, February 14 is the old brick factory at 2701 8th Street in West Berkeley that was turned into the collective workplace + shops  known as the Berkeley Kitchens. Nine of the makers who create their treasures in…

  At the Golden Gate Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers’s Annual Scion Exchange, gardeners trade scions from heirloom varieties of fruit grown in Northern California. The event includes a free grafting class, demos, rootstocks for sale, a fruit tasting, and a plant sale. Select from hundreds of varieties to graft onto your trees…

  By Kristina Sepetys Morningtide, a home goods shop off Solano Avenue in Albany, offers regular pop-ups that draw lines to the local food artisans they host. On Saturday and Sunday February 10 and 11, 11am-2pm, they’ll be hosting a Valentine’s pop-up with Topogato, a specialty chocolate company known for their vividly colored artful truffles…

By Kristina Sepetys     CHANGE OF VENUE ALERT: Blooms End has announced that the Saturday, January 13, 2024 pop-up from 10am to 1pm will be held at Hammerling Wines, 1350 5th Street, Berkeley. (The Hammerling tasting room is located between streets, behind Hammerling and Donkey & Goat on 5th Street and Vinca Minor on 4th…

  Finalists. Congratulations for making the Finalist cut at the 2024 Good Food Awards with your tasty, authentic, and responsibly made products! We’ll be watching and hoping to see you among the Winners at the ceremony in April. Readers! Check out our East Bay finalists list here and let us know which yummy foods are…

An apple (and more) caught our eye as we read about upcoming programming at the UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Dr, Berkeley. Plants Illustrated Exhibition: Edible Native Plants of California January 17–February 4, 10am–4pm except Tuesdays We’re especially excited about this exhibition showcasing edible California native plants. The closing reception on Sunday, February 4, 5–6pm, features…

  Californians are known to be wimps about cold weather, and folks in truly cold climes don’t buy the excuse that our houses lack insulation. Better than making fun of us would be to soothe us with hot soup. Click here for 9 soup recipes from around the Edible Communities, most from parts north. 1:…

  One of our holiday-season habits is to go out to this lively party at Malcolm and Karen Bond’s olive orchard and mill in Winters. Having attended more than once on a rainy day, we know that whatever the weather, we’ll have fun. We’ll gather under the huge umbrellas on the patio, where a fire…

  Come join the humans of Soul Food Farm and Morningsun Herb Farm—along with the donkey elves—at this festive holiday fair. Local artisans offer handmade soaps, pastries, local meat, honey, bread, handmade knives, candles, photography, lavender products, and more. Entrance and parking are free. Please bring a small new toy to be donated to a…

  Join Slow Food East Bay for a dinner at Korner Kitchen with Cleodia and Ryan Martinez of catering company Midsummer Kitchen. The two chefs are dedicated to flipping the narrative on Filipino cuisine away from the stereotypical pork-filled and fried dishes toward beautiful and delicious plant-based dishes. They’ll be using recipes from Ay Sus!…

  Meet chef-restaurateur Sylvan Mishima Brackett, author of the new RINTARO: Japanese Food from an Izakaya in California at a book signing event and tasting on Saturday, November 4, noon–2pm at Rockridge Market Hall, 5655 College Avenue in Oakland. The New York Times recently named Rintaro one of the best restaurants in San Francisco. Come meet Sylvan,…

  Come join Maria del Carmen Cortez, clinical herbalist and permaculturist, to learn about food plants that originated in Latin America. Each participant will pot three different plants to take home and learn how and when to plant them and when to harvest. Saturday October 28, 11am–noon Dimond Branch Oakland Public Library 3565 Fruitvale Ave…

  Spend a lovely hour in the Crops of the World Garden at the UC Botanical Garden learning about traditional amaranth harvesting methods and practices. Members of Indigenous Permaculture will share the rich history of this food and its importance to the people of Mesoamerica. Participants will share in community while celebrating the deep Indigenous…

Celebrating a 3,000-Year-Old Tradition in the Time of Climate Change By Annie Wang     Three-thousand years have passed since the time of the Shang Dynasty when the Mid-Autumn Festival began. Through the millennia, people all over East Asia and throughout the Chinese diaspora have celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the…

  Oakland filmmaker Dr. Gail Myers calls Rhythms of the Land a “valentine to generations of Black farmers.” The documentary premieres at the Oakland International Film Festival on Thursday, September 14 at the Grand Lake Theater. Dr. Myers, a cultural anthropologist, visited 10 Southern states to interview 27 elderly Black farmers, gardeners, dairy ranchers, and…

  Urban Adamah’s Rosh Hashanah Festival & Weekend Retreat features drop-in events or a full weekend of activities and lodging, September 15–17 in Berkeley Urban Adamah, in partnership with Base Bay and Moishe House, is opening its doors for Rosh Hashanah ritual, learning, celebration, nourishment, and rest. Attend the full retreat on-site with room and…

  The SF Cheese Fest is celebrating its 8th annual event in San Francisco proper, bringing together more than 20 California artisan cheesemakers, cheese lovers, and anyone wanting to deepen their knowledge of cheese. All attendees can savor and pair cheese and cheese accompaniments with local wines, beers, and other beverages while enjoying live music.…