Lost Trades and Back Forty Cheese grand opening

Jeff Green | Jun 22, 2016

Canada Day is on a Friday this year, so July 2 is a big day for events as well. Not only will the farmers' markets in Verona, Sharbot Lake and McDonalds Corners be open for business as usual, there are many other events scheduled as well.

On the grounds of the Crow Lake Schoolhouse in Crow Lake Village, Primitive Catering is hosting a new event, Lost Trades and Handmades, which is billed as a “gathering of the finest food and products created by hand.”

Dean Fredette, one the principals at Primitive Catering, describes the event as a tribute to the skills of traditional crafters, whether they work with fabric, metal, in the garden or in the kitchen.

Fredette sees an appetite for products that are made by hand by skilled people, and while Primitive Catering is a food company, the same kind of commitment to function and aesthetics is found in a skewer of meat barbequed on an open fire as in the production of fine knives, baskets or any other artisanal product.

In addition to fine food sizzling on the fire pit there will be music by ALAN BRIAN, Alan Kitching on saxophone and clarinet and Brian Roche on guitar and vocals; knives made by Brian Connolly; the Enright Cattle Company; St. Paul United Church Quilts; Dragonfly Herbs; basketmaking demonstrations by Jule Koch; preserves, baked goods, a book sale, and more. The event runs from 12 noon to 7pm.

Meanwhile, 10 kilometres north of Highway 7 on Road 509, down the Gully Road in Mississippi Station, the long-awaited grand opening of the Back Forty Cheese Creamery and Bakeshop will take place from 10 am to 4 pm.

The new home of Back Forty Cheese is on an old farmstead on the Mississippi River. The large drive shed near the farmhouse has been converted into a cheese factory, with an adjoining retail space. Upstairs there is a loft space that is a screen printing studio.

Jenna Fenwick, who runs Jenna Rose Screen printing, and Jeff Fenwick, who makes Back Forty Sheep's milk cheese, have been working on the shed, establishing gardens and feeding a drove of young Berkshire pigs with the whey from the factory.

“We thought it would be nice, in this new location, to set up a storefront that we can open on Saturdays throughout the summer, to let people see how the cheese is made, and all the related activities that make for a sustainable operation,” said Jeff about setting up the shop. “We will be holding tours of the cheese factory and the grounds, and we are having some friends join us as well.”

In addition to five Back Forty cheeses – Flower Station, Bonnechere, Highland Blue, Madawaska, and the newest Back Forty Cheese, Ompah, there will be some fresh cheese available on the 2nd.

Mike McKenzie of Seed to Sausage will be on the barbeque, grilling sausages, and providing meat for Charcuterie plates.

Thanks to a special occasions permit, Stalwart Brewing from Carleton Place will be on hand, serving some of their popular brews plus a new summer beer, which is appropriately named Down by River. Three Dog Winery from Prince Edward County as well as MacKinnon Brothers from Bath will also be represented.

Black Kettle Catering is bringing their popcorn.

And to wash all that food and drink down, Elphin's own Joey Wright, fresh from a year in the countryside near Avignon, no doubt drinking too much Rhone and Rousillon Valley wines and eating much too well, will be performing on guitar, mandolin and banjo.