Weekly Food News: Must-attend summer food events, thoughts from Redskins vendors, and an accessible cooking program

Food vendors find sweet spot at Redskins Training Camp

Despite concerns that attendance has dropped precipitously at the annual Washington Redskins Training Camp at the team’s facility on W. Leigh Street (among other gripes), food vendors seemed to have found their sweet spot at this year’s camp, which concluded last Sunday, August 14th. As reported by the RTD’s Louis Llovio:

Food vendors working at the Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center this year say they have been more profitable than in previous years and say the team has done a good job of making sure they’re getting the customers they need.

While there aren’t many local vendors, response to this year’s training camp is an improvement over previous years. That includes when local business owners said that a food court set up outside camp was ill-conceived and a year when there was no space for Richmond restaurateurs.

At past years’ events, local food vendors complained of low traffic due to their placement along W. Leigh Street as opposed to inside the gates of the facility, which is reserved for the team’s “official” food sponsors. Accommodations were made to move carts and trucks just outside the entrance this year.

Read the full story here.

Bonus: Check out this cool RTD video profiling Chef Tobias Dorzon, personal chef for several Redskins players.

Vote for your favorite restaurants, chefs, and service industry professionals in RTD’s “The Best” survey

Speaking of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, it’s the last week to vote for your favorite restaurants and service industry personnel in the publication’s “RTD The Best” survey. The paper says more than 200,000 votes have already been cast. Voting closes at midnight on Sunday, August 21st. Results are announced October 3rd.

Click here to vote for your favorites.

Local hands-on culinary program opens the kitchen to all

Bird Cox, writing for Richmond Magazine, has a great profile on Leanne Burton, who recently started a culinary program called SpoonScouts. Burton’s hands-on cooking workshops offer children with intellectual challenges–specifically ADD/ADHD and autism–the chance to experiment in the kitchen and gain new skills to use both in the kitchen and in life.

Inspired by Burton’s two siblings with special needs — who also inspired her degree in psychology from VCU — SpoonScouts was born at Barnes & Noble’s Mini Maker Faire last November when Burton realized she could teach a workshop she’d been developing. “They needed people to get involved with workshops relating to STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] projects,” she says. “I had been thinking of this workshop about how to teach children to work with chocolate, and in doing so, learn about physical properties of things: solids, liquids and gasses, a lesson in matter properties.”

Read the profile here.

Make the most of the last days of summer with these great food events

Brandon Fox over at Style Weekly has a great list of nine must-attend summer food events in the Richmond area. From food trucks and wine dinners to a city-wide sandwich week and festivals, there’s something for everyone, from the casual foodie to the most discriminating palate.

Check out Fox’s picks here.

Enjoy a taste of Italy under the stars this Thursday

Among Style’s picks is the Alfresco & Fireside Dinner Series, which continues this Thursday at Dover Hall Estate. The monthly wine dinner series, which began in June, will take guests on a trip to Italy this Thursday evening. The menu includes hand-made gnocchi, risotto, and other creations as part of a rustic, family-style feast from chef Glenn Hooper of Mosaic Catering and Events.

The evening will open with a cocktail hour by the estate’s reflecting pool featuring homemade gnocchi, followed by a number of Tuscan-style dinner courses. The evening will close out with guests enjoying hand-made gelato from local purveyor Nick DeLuca and a sip of limoncello.

Thursday’s Italian dinner (ticket sales for which close very, very soon) kicks off at 6:30 PM at Dover Hall Estate, located at 1500 Manakin Road in Manakin Sabot. Tickets are $125.00. Click here to learn more and purchase tickets.

The full menu can be seen below.