she uses local farms to source her
ingredients. The produce comes from
Santa Croce Farm in Enterprise, the
chicken from Falling 4 Ewe Farm in
Flemington and the eggs from Brown
Farm in Jane Lew.
“What makes Provence Market Café
stand out is my personal culinary style,”
she says. “For my cooking technique,
I might take a plain chicken and jazz
it up by making a classic chicken coq
au van or roast half of that chicken
and serve it with a lemon tarragon
sauce for a nightly special.”
Because Hart wants to share her love
for fresh meals with the public, she
began hosting farm-to-table dinners
in the last few years. One was held at
the West Virginia Botanic Garden and
another was hosted at J.Q. Dickinson
Salt-Works.
Hart plans to host at least one farm-
to-table event in 2019. To stay up to
date on all the events at Provence
Market Café, visit its Facebook page
at www.facebook.com/Provence-
Market-Cafe.
The Station
The Station. Photo by Chris
Jackson Photography.
Nestled in the New River Gorge area,
The Station was established in 2016
to support the local economy while
preparing fresh meals for its customers.
Kirk Mulcahy and Amy Summerford,
the general managers, both share
a love for locally sourced food and
bringing people together to enjoy it.
“Kirk and I were both raised by mothers
who believed in feeding their children
healthy meals and made that happen in
varying degrees by growing what they
could and sourcing what they couldn’t,
whether it was locally, organically
or seasonally,” says Summerford.
“Because of our childhoods, we both
believe in eating food that is fresh
and flavorful, has the smallest carbon
footprint possible, helps sustain our
local economy and isn’t pumped full
of chemicals.”
As a true farm-to-table establishment,
Mulcahy and Summerford purchase as
much as they can within the Mountain
State. Last year, 72 percent of their
ingredients came from local producers,
and the goal is to increase that
percentage every year. “We are proud
to be a part of this community, and a
large part of our mission is to make it
possible for friends and neighbors to
make money by selling things they grow,
raise and produce,” says Summerford.
“We are continuously making new
connections and finding new producers
and products in the area.”
The Station offers dishes that are
prepared simply and splendidly using
techniques that honor high-quality,
fresh ingredients, and they believe this
philosophy is what sets them apart.
“We don’t have a single dish on our
menu that doesn’t involve some sort
of local product,” says Summerford.
“We regularly feature dishes that
allow us to use local products we get
in limited quantities, and our menu
rotates seasonally so that most of
the proteins stay the same but the
ingredients change to allow us to use
seasonally available produce.”
In order to serve its patrons on a
larger scale, The Station puts on a
few farm-to-table dinners each year.
While some are on a community
scale, others are held in-house or on-
site with local producers or brewers.
The Station doesn’t have set dates
for 2019 yet, but its Facebook page
is the best way to stay current with
upcoming events. It can be viewed
by visiting www.facebook.com/
TheStationWV.
supported market that provides fresh
food for the public while supporting
local farmers. To further support local
producers, growers and artisans, it
established an annual farm-to-table
dinner.
“The idea for a farm-to-table dinner
event was one that just fits with our
overall mission,” says Kelsey Abad,
market manager of The Wild Ramp.
“When the organization started back
in 2012, it was a no-brainer to have
an event where the community could
come and celebrate the year’s harvest
all together.”
The farm-to-table dinner is held
annually in late September or early
October. “Our dinner features products
and producers from our store, which
sources within a 250-mile radius of
Huntington,” says Abad. “We not only
source local ingredients for the dinner,
but we also feature a local chef and
band for entertainment. This event
is a celebration of what makes our
community unique and special.”
Another aspect that makes the event
unique is that every year the menu
reflects the recent harvest so a patron’s
palate is always surprised. “Each chef
we work with highlights Appalachia
through their own individual and
creative interpretation,” says Abad.
This year’s event, scheduled for
October 5, will be held on 14th Street
in front of the store under the gazebo.
Event tickets will be sold exclusively
through The Wild Ramp’s website
and will be limited to 100. For more
information on the annual event, visit
http://wildramp.org.
The Wild Ramp.
Photo by Sarah Trenalone.
The Wild Ramp
The Wild Ramp, a nonprofit in
Huntington, is a year-round, community-
www.wve xe c uti v e.com
43