BERKSHIRE FOOD GUILD PRESENTS

A WHOLE HOG WORKSHOP, 10:30 am AUGUST 24

New Marlborough, Mass. (July 25th, 2013) – The Berkshire Food Guild will be hosting a Whole Hog Workshop on Saturday, August 24th at Cricket Creek Farm in Williamstown, MA. This will be the second public event organized by the Berkshire Food Guild. It marks the beginning of a series of workshops and gatherings organized by the Berkshire Food Guild with the aim of sharing information and knowledge about food craft skills. Berkshire Food Guild co-founder and butcher Jake Levin says: “The Whole Hog Workshop grew out of our collective passion for pigs and pork. The pig represents the essence of nose-to-tail butchery and sustainable food systems. So many people love pork and charcuterie and yet, are mystified by it. We wanted to demystify it, and share our passion for this subject.”  
The Whole Hog Workshop will be a full day event with the Berkshire Food Guild's butcher, Jake Levin, charcutier, Jazu Stine, and chef, Jamie Paxton. The day will begin with a tour of our host farm, Cricket Creek Farm, and a discussion of pasture-based farming and sustainable animal husbandry. The morning will be spent learning how to breakdown a pig sourced from Climbing Tree Farm, which feeds its pigs whey from Cricket Creek Farm's cheese-making facility. The hands-on butchery workshop will include information on where the various cuts come from, their characteristics, and the best approaches for cooking and curing each cut. After a pork-filled lunch, the workshop will focus on curing lessons and demonstrations. The participants will take the pig they broke down in the morning and put each cut under cure to create popular cured products, including bacon, sausage, proscuitto, coppa and more. We will go over the various curing techniques including dry curing, smoking, and making sausages, salamis, and terrines. After a charcuterie tasting, the workshop will conclude with everyone settling down around a table overlooking the farm to feast on a pork-centric meal and absorb the day’s learning over some local craft beers.
The Whole Hog Workshop will be held on Saturday, August 24th, 2013 at Cricket Creek Farm, Williamstown, MA. The Workshop will begin at 10:30 am. Tickets are $350 per person, including beverages, lunch, and dinner. Tickets can be purchased at http://bfgwholehog.eventbrite.com/ or via their Facebook page facebook.com/BerkshireFoodGuild