Jane and Michael Stern were in town a few days ago and snapped some nice shots of dishes at Zingerman’s Roadhouse.

Sept. 18, 2009
for immediate release
contact Pete Sickman-Garner, 734.904.0644 or [email protected]

2nd Annual Native American Harvest Dinner Explores Anishinaabe Culinary Traditions

Joining Roadhouse Chef Alex Young at this year’s Native American Harvest Dinner will be four University of Michigan professors for a lively and engaging look at dishes of the Anishinaabe, the native peoples of the Michigan Territory. The dinner will take place Tuesday, October 13, at 7pm at Zingerman’s Roadhouse, and the cost is $45 per person. University of Michigan Professors Margaret Noori, Michael Witgen, Howard Kimewon and Philip Deloria will talk about their connections to Native American culture, speak about native foods, and bring the language to life through readings. Guests will even enjoy an Ojibwe language lesson. “We want to build something really special,” notes Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig. “This is something we want to be doing every year, 10, 20 years from now and really build up, in a really fun and engaging way, people’s awareness of and appreciation for the history of where we’re living and for traditions that are still very much alive today.”

Professors Noori and Kimewon, who have worked with local community members and students to create the website, www.ojibwe.net which is a popular resource for speakers and students of the Ojibwe language, says, “I love to see native culture represented as a part of modern American life. It’s nice to see Indians in the Roadhouse. I especially love that Zingerman’s is willing to include Anishinaabemowin and invite detailed extemporaneous discussions rather than reduce native culture to stereotypes and small slices of history.”

James Beard-nominated Chef Young is preparing a five-course meal including starters of Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Fried Hominy, Rabbit Succotash with Puffed Wild Rice Soup, Roasted Duck, Corn Flour Batter Fried Walleye, and Wild Rice Stuffed Pumpkin.

Reservations for the dinner are available by calling the Roadhouse at 734.663.3663 or in person at 2501 Jackson Road at the corner of Jackson and Maple in the Westgate Mall in Ann Arbor. For more information on the event or to request an interview, please contact Pete Sickman-Garner, Zingerman’s Marketing Manager at 734.904.0644 or [email protected].

* what the Anishinaabe prepared when they harvested

Cooking the Books with Ari Weinzweig: Zingerman’s co-founder talks about bacon and business
An informative interview with Zingerman’s Guide to Better Bacon author and Zingerman’s co-founder Ari Weinzweig.

New York Times        Sept 9, 2009
ZingTrain and BAKE! featured in story about savvy business promoters!
Small Business editor Micheline Maynard highlights ZingTrain’s Cheese Mastery Class with Daphne Zepos and BAKE’s weekend Pastry BAKE-cation as innovative ways that businesses are luring customers in a tough economy.