Go Your Own Way?

Much ado has been made of America's independent spirit but one of our least celebrated assets is our ability to work as a community.  What soaring eagles, pioneers and lone gunmen all have in common is a wildly independent streak.  While going your own way might score you cool points (possibly jail time) it won't cook you supper.  Belonging to a community doesn't make you any less of a free thinker.  It just gives you a bunch of patient ears to bounce off your wildly independent ideas.

The Fatted Calf is most certainly an independent little place but we would be nowhere without our community.  From the network of farmers to the many hands helping to produce and pack, from the people in our Napa neighborhood to the folks we see each week at the farmers market, there is a familiarity and sense of community that adds a deeper meaning to our day to day tasks.

So, yes, we will be open and at the farmers market this Independence Day.  The temptation to forgo work, to not stand in the hot sun trying to convey again and again the scrumptiousness of a porcini filled crepinette and instead put up the closed sign and spend the day in a paradise of cold beer and smoked ribs is strong but there is a long chain reaction that begins with a farmer and ends with you possibly having to purchase inferior hot dogs at a less than community oriented supermarket that compels us.

Celebrate your independence and your community and we'll see you at the market this Fourth of July!

Summer School

Our June 20 Pig Butchery class filled up so fast that we quickly added a second and now are offering a third.   So if you missed the opportunity to Join us in June or July we are now offering Basic Pig Butchery Part I at our store at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa on Saturday August 1 from 10 until 2. In this class we will demonstrate the basic way to break down a whole hog into its various tasty parts. You will also learn basic roast preparation and sausage making.

The cost for the class is $125 per person and includes lunch, a little vino and your share of the sausage you helped prepare. Classes are limited to 12 people. Please call the store at 707.256.3684 to reserve your place.