Heritage Fire Napa

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If you are looking for ways to help people affected by the Sonoma and Napa fires, click here.

 

 

A food, wine, and beer festival with over 50 chefs and 3,000 pounds of “fire-kissed meat” in Napa Valley – how could we miss it? We got some of our friends together and made our way up the valley to Cochon 555’s Heritage Fire Napa. Chefs cooked over open flames alongside the vineyards and prepared dishes based on the whole heritage breed animals and local ingredients at their stations.

 

 

Guests walked in, grabbed a glass, and headed for the food. First there was a pavilion in the center filled with grilled oysters, clams, and charcuterie while Team Toast walked around with serving toast.

 

One highlight was a group of midwestern chefs. Stacie and Sarah spotted giant beef ribs from Travail Kitchen and jumped in line. By the time they got to the front of the line they were out (there are only so many ribs on a cow…), so they were on to the next dish. This ended up being a ribeye shot served on the back of your hand (unusual, but delicious–it was fresh, spicy, and flavorful).

 

They also served a thai beef salad from Andrew Zimmerman of Sepia in Chicago and beef tenderloin with tomatillo and Mexican corn salsa. Later they began serving steak by hanging it from hooks on a giant tree branch and parading it through the crowd. Ty did a great demonstration on how it worked.

 

One of the best dishes we had was created by our favorite chef, Matthew Accarrino of SPQR. He roasted guinea hens with lemons and truffles and served it with a fennel panzanella, liver pate, and shaved Urbani black truffles on top! Fantastic!

 

You could stop by the Pop-up Butcher Shop where we watched Marina Meats perform butcher demonstrations on different animals throughout the afternoon. This was interesting, but not for the squeamish.

 

The Dirty Habit was serving sisig fried rice – Indonesian style goat with foie gras and pickled papaya.

 

It was really hot out (and even hotter near the fires) so it was refreshing to cool off with beer from Magnolia Brewing Co. There was always a long line there but it was worth it and moved quickly.

 

There was also music, lawn games, and room for people to spread out blankets and take a rest from their “food babies.” Our tip if you plan to attend one of these events is to get there as soon as it opens. You’ll have the most options of food to try. Wear comfortable shoes – no heels here. Enjoy. Eat. Drink.