edible notables
CELEBRATING FALLON AGRICULTURE
Tractors & Truffles Showcases Celebrity Chefs and Artists.
WRITTEN BY JEANNE LAUF WALPOLE
PHOTOS COURTESY OF RICK GRAY
In celebration of its burgeoning arts and agricultural scene, Fallon will once again roll out the red carpet for attendees at its fourth annual Tractors & Truffles event on Sept. 14.
Billed as a “farm-to-plate gourmet dinner and evening with the arts,” the affair is a collaborative effort of the Fallon Convention & Tourism Authority and the Churchill Arts Council.
“Fallon has a very vital agricultural industry, and these farms provide a lot of food for restaurants,” says Rick Gray, FCTA executive director and event originator. “With that industry in place, we were looking for a vehicle to grow awareness of it. We also have a very eclectic art scene.”
Tractors & Truffles will showcase the best of Fallon beginning at 11 a.m. with a tour, cooking demonstrations, and light lunch at Lattin Farms, followed by a tour and wine tasting at Churchill Vineyards. Activities then move to the Oats Park Art Bar at 3 p.m. for a music workshop, cocktails, and gourmet dinner. The event culminates with a live concert at 8 p.m. by Paper Bird, voted top Denver band by 5280 magazine and third best underground Colorado band by The Denver Post, at the nearby Barkley Theatre.
Celebrity chef Ryan Scott will join chefs Steve Hernandez and Mark Davis in preparing the dinner that will spotlight foods — such as beef, vegetables, and melons — that are produced on Fallon’s farms and ranches.
A California Culinary Academy graduate, Scott is a well-known San Francisco food personality with his own radio show, catering business, and several restaurants. A former contestant on the reality cooking show, Top Chef, Scott says he and Hernandez are looking to expand their teamwork by creating a restaurant in Reno. He also will be filming an episode of Food Rush while cooking at Tractors & Truffles.
Raised on a family farm in Fallon, Hernandez also graduated from CCA and then moved on to distinguished stints at such award-winning dining establishments as Oritalia and Waterfront Restaurant in San Francisco. He regularly showcases his culinary skills at his own restaurant, The Slanted Porch, in Fallon.
Rounding out the team, Mark Davis boasts a distinctive career, having refined his talents at such prestigious properties as The Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Rey and The Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena. An award-winning ice sculptor, Davis is the chef director for the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California, San Francisco.
At Tractors & Truffles, be sure to bring your appetite and curiosity, as you learn, dine, and imbibe under the Northern Nevada sky.
Jeanne Lauf Walpole is a Reno-based freelance writer who once owned restaurants in Fallon.
Tractors & Truffles
Fallon, Nev.
Beginning at 11 a.m. Sept. 14
Cost is $125 per person, which includes all events
For details, call 775-423-4556 or visit http://www.Tractorsandtruffles.com
