The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top 6 September food events
Make bread, say cheese, visit JapanFest, eat pests or try farm-to-table.
September is full of activities for food lovers. Here are six ideas for eating and drinking all month long.
11 cookbook authors and chefs in one place
Every Labor Day weekend finds the streets of downtown Decatur thronged with visitors to the AJC Decatur Book Festival. This year, the cooking starts at 10 a.m. Sept. 3 with Ann Byrn, former Atlanta Journal-Constitution food editor, on the Food & Cooking Stage. There are sessions every hour, on the hour, with the last session starting at 4 p.m. On Sept. 4, the food and cooking sessions begin at noon. The last session of the festival is at 4 p.m. that Sunday, when Andreas Muller of Revival will give a demonstration on cooking on the Big Green Egg. All sessions are free. Food & Cooking Stage, MARTA Plaza, Decatur Square, Decatur. decaturbookfestival.com.
Make your own bread and jam
You’d love to bake your own bread, but you think it’s too complicated. Temperature, yeast, rising times — it’s all too much. And jam? All that chopping and boiling, and then you get syrup instead of jelly? No, thanks. The husband-and-wife team of Tom and Lyn Deardorff of Preserving Now are prepared to turn your thinking around. They’ve got decades of experience and they want to make you love baking and jam making as much as they do. You’ll bake a French baguette and make classic apple butter. You’ll go home with a baguette, a jar of apple butter and the dough you made in class so you can bake it at home. $45. Sept. 10. Bosch Experience Center at Serenbe, 10640 Serenbe Lane, Chattahoochee Hills. Register by email: lyn@preservingnow.com.
Bento box, anyone?
Attending JapanFest has been an Atlanta fall tradition for 30 years. The weekend offers music, dance, martial arts demonstrations, plenty of shopping, the chance to dress up in a kimono and, most importantly, the chance to sample lots of Japanese food. Local Japanese restaurants will offer roll sushi, bento boxes, ramen noodles, takoyaki, shaved ice, curry rice, yakisoba, torikaraage and more. Sample sake and enjoy Mitsuwa marketplace from California with its popular Japanese fast food. $10 admission, extra for food and drink. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 17 and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 18. Infinite Energy Center, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 404842-0736, japanfest.org.
Eat farm-to-table with food entrepreneurs
Each month, the folks who organize the Atlanta Underground Market find a great venue, decide on a theme, gather dozens of Atlanta’s budding food entrepreneurs, and throw a party. This month, they’re doing their first farm-to-table event and each of the 28 vendors will be featuring ingredients from local farms. You’ll meet the foodies and the farmers. There are always vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options, and great music, this time from DJ Source one. And, this month, there’s a chef throwdown, too. Bring school supplies to go to Heartwood Agile Learning Center. $5 entrance fee, and each vendor sells items priced $1 to $5. 6-9 p.m. Sept. 24. Location to be announced Sept. 23. Signup at atlanta underground market.com to get the email with the secret location.
Turn a pest into a treat
The founders of Atlanta’s Eco-A delight in holding events that connect you with nature in some pretty unexpected ways. Join them for the first Atlanta Kudzu Festival, an all-day event featuring kudzu craft workshops and nature walks. They’ve joined with Sustainable Lakewood and Atlanta City Council member Carla Smith for workshops with North Georgia artist Cleve Phillips. You can learn to make a kudzu basket, walk through the native forest in South Bend Park, or take the class on making candy from kudzu. $10 for basket, papermaking and candy making workshops. Candy class is at 3:30 p.m. Events run 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sept. 24. South Bend Park, 1955 Compton Drive, Atlanta. ecoaddendum.org/event/ atlanta-kudzu-festival.
Eat more cheese
Eat cheese. Buy cheese. Drink with cheese. Eat grilled cheese. Southeastern cheese. California cheese. New England cheese. There’ll be cheese of every persuasion and all the accompaniments at the Cheese Fest. Admission gets you in to enjoy all the cheese you care to eat, live music from Packway Handle and one drink ticket. $35 general admission, $75 for VIP beer, wine or bourbon events. 5-10 p.m. Sept.30. Freight Depot Building, 110 Central Ave. S.W., Atlanta. Purchase tickets online at thecheesefest. com/events/atlanta.