And for all of those who have been rocking it for so many years… for all of the great causes and people who spearhead those efforts - we saulte you!

We have the pleasure of participating in a lot of various fundraising efforts from local to national charities. It certainly is a Herculean effort to put on each of these events and we hope that our participation helps raise much needed funds for each of the causes.

Earlier this month we took part in the 10th Annual Heart’s Delight Wine Tasting and Auction to raise funds for the American Heart’s Association. We were amongst some incredible chefs, restaurants and wine distributors.

Our Foie Gras and Beet Macaroons!!! Pretty and tasty to boot. You usually only get one of these as a canape to begin. My friend Nicole just told me the other day, it would be her dream to get a whole tray of these to take home. Well, lady, you should have bought a ticket…

This was totally cool. The three ladies in the middle, from one of my favorite tv shows, were right next to our table.

Upcoming we are participating in the Share our Strength’s dinner this Wednesday June 3rd. Chefs On Tour to End Childhood Hunger because in the world’s wealthiest nation, no child should grow up hungry. This is an organization that Bryan has been involved in for many years.

Wednesday night is a multi-course seated dinner with various chefs preparing each course. Participating chefs this year include:
Charlie Palmer
Matt Hill, Charlie Palmer Steak
Bryan Voltaggio, VOLT
Jeffrey Buben, Bistro Bis
R.J. Cooper, Vidalia
Todd Gray, Equinox Restaurant
Brian McBride, Blue Duck Tavern
Keith Luce, Past White House Sous Chef, currently at The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA
Walter Scheib, Past White House Executive Chef

Tickets for the event start at $500 for an individual and continue up to $20,000 for a table of 10. For the lucky Chef’s Table priced at $20,000 you also get to take home with you Matt Hill, Executive Chef, Charlie Palmer Steak and Bryan Voltaggio. The duo will prepare a multi-course, wine-paired dinner for six in your home on a future date.

Tickets available by calling Andrea Agalloco at (202) 478-6528 or emailing aagalloco@strength.org
Click here to bid on some fabulous items.

And then there are our local causes. The calls for help that we get from people we see on the streets everyday. And those that pull at our heart strings. This one is called Jeffrey Hayek’s Memorial Fund. Jeffrey was a little boy whom I never met, who lived with his family down the street from VOLT. As the website dedicated to his memorial fund states, “when you talk about a life story, it should span much longer than ten years. Still, Jeff squeezed a lot into his decade. As we wrote in his obituary, Jeff sought out fun so enthusiastically and so successfully, that it was almost as if he knew he had to hurry.”

The Jeffrey Hayek Memorial Fund will pay for the construction and maintenance of a very special baseball field in the memory of Jeffrey. To help raise funds, Jeffrey’s parents are putting on a fundraiser and auction on June 19th. To help with the fundraising VOLT is donating a wine tasting event hosted by our sommelier including 10 wines and canapes for 10 guests. This is valued at $2,000 and we hope that it will bring a big donation to the cause. If you wish to begin a pre-event bid on this item please email me and I will pass along the bid to the event organizers. You are also welcome to purchase tickets to the fundraiser festivities. Ticket Information on the poster below.

jeffyposter.pdf

This month’s short shout out list:

I went a little crazy shopping for heirloom tomatoes at the House in the Woods Farm. I bought Striped German, Speckled Roma, Valencia, Prudens, Sungold, Brandywine, Black Krum, and also Perpetual spinach, Black beauty eggplant, jalapeno and a whole slew of herbs.

My scientific, restauranteur reasoning for choosing what to purchase for the VOLT garden? I chose them because I liked their names. Also, I got caught up in the moment - Pouring down rain, driving along this scenic route to get to the farm.

Come to find out, we get absolutely zero sunlight in our planting bed area. I’m no farmer but I’m pretty sure sunlight and water are a must for plants to produce. But me and George Michael, two peas in a pod, we both have faith. So here we are, me and mini me, planting our little seedlings.

I did take half of the tomatoes and herbs home to plant in full sunshine.

You may wonder what happens at VOLT after all the guests have gone home, the dishes cleaned, the floors mopped and the doors locked…

The Wine Smack Down.

Here we have six wines to blind taste test and provide the correct grape, region and year.

Introducing tonight’s contenders - sommelier Neil Dundee and dining room captain TJ.

And after a full hour of swirling and tasting, it was an edge of your seat, nail biting close match.

Here we have the smile of tonight winner. Ha Ha in your face!!

Better luck next time. Don’t mess with the master!!

Oh the fun never stops at 228.

With the first signs of springs, we took out our shovels and got down in the dirt to build our own little vegetable patch. The art of building a raised bed isn’t really complicated but supervision helps get the job done right.

This first bed is completely level. But i have a suspicion that the ground will shift before too long sending our perfectly level bed to match the second raised bed. We lost the level somewhere in all the dirt so we ended up eyeballing the second one.

Having so many farmer friends helps. We got several offers for the best manure to put in our vegetable patch. The winning offer came from our own bartender Chad, who not only offered to bring the manure but to also mix it in with the existing topsoil.

In the end, two beautiful raised beds. Just can’t wait for everything to be planted and sprouting.

Beginning this summer shoppers at Wegmans flagship grocery store will be able to use an in-store kiosk to scan a bar code on their berry container to reveal the name of the grower who sold the berries, and the day and place of their harvest. The effort is designed to make consumers feel more comfortable about the food they purchase.

Lucky us we don’t need a bar code to tell us where our food comes from. Take a tour on Frederick County’s Virtual Farmers’ Market and you’ll see how fortunate we are to be in the midst of one of the most robust agricultural communities. Last year, in the midst of grand opening activities, we hit upon this site and became close friends with Colby Ferguson, Agricultural Director for the County, who introduced us to a series of great farmers.

With the passing of the year we have been able to form relationships with many of the farmers in the area and have become a staple at the Saturday morning farmers market where chef picks up the freshest ingredients to whip up something beautiful.

This past Saturday was the grand opening of the farmer’s market and the rain parted and the sunshine came out just a little. Look at the treats that were waiting for us

You can read the philosophy behind the VOLT food on one of our blogger friend’s website, Grown in Frederick who recently interviewed chef about his food and relationship with the farmers.