There's only one picture of plated food in this deck of images from
@meadowsweet.midatlantic 's first project....
Though the lack of food photography was incidental, as I reflect on what we're building without images of my cooking to reference, I realize very quickly that this circumstance speaks directly to what
@marciegstcox ,
@jonnabye , & I aim to communicate.
This project exists to put the focus back where it belongs, on the people, ecosystems, & traditions that feed us here in the MidAtlantic- their present realities, their histories, & their potential. The pretty things we make & our technical fluency matter only because they afford us the broad reference points, language, & networks necessary to work almost exclusively within the terroir & merroir of the region we all call home.
Though many more restaurants operate with regionality in mind than once did, very few do so without some deference to a specific foreign cuisine or without a tone that paints their approach as revolutionary, rather than a restoration, expansion, & "elevation" of the work that has been happening in homes & communities since humans first came to this corner of the world millennia ago.
The way we grow, eat, & ferment here deserves to be regarded entirely in its own right & the history on which it stands, both pre & post colonial, deserves to be acknowledged.
Our endless ridgelines, great river valleys, hills & hollers, dense deciduous forests, expansive coastal plains, diverse production farmlands, globally storied bay, & the communities that have stewarded them all are constantly trying to communicate with us about how we should be eating & drinking. Existing in relationship with them & giving them room to speak is one of the most beautiful experiences I have had in this lifetime. Meadowsweet is the culmination of us trying our hardest to listen, reflect, & share our learning about this place in the best way we know how, by feeding people 🌾
