An Event Retrospective

This post was contributed by Erica Ericksen.

On February 27th we hosted our first fundraiser dinner at Nosh Scratch Kitchen in downtown Winona. It was a sunny day, with (for better or worse) temps above freezing with a high of 50 ℉ and the weather reflected the atmosphere of the night, bright and full of hope for the future. 

The back room at Nosh Scratch Kitchen, Winona’s downtown casual fine-dining go-to was sold out with friends and supporters of Restoravore. Sixty people joined us for a unique, four-course meal centered around the shared principles of Nosh’s owners and Restoravore. It was locally-sourced, grass-roots, community-centered, and tastefully nuanced.

Introducing Ourselves

Board Chair, Kaitlyn Bottorff, shared the history of Restoravore. Project Coordinator, Gabe Ericksen, spoke about the past, present, and future work of Restoravore. Board Secretary, Melissa Richards, brought the message to life by sharing her own personal story of how, as a physician, the commitment to ecology and community is tangible and attainable with a group like Restoravore. All of us really can make a difference. Finally, incoming Executive Director, Sadie Neuman, tied everything together, explaining how the broader Winona community can play a collaborating role within Restoravore’s hyper-local mission.

Guests received seed packets of little bluestem and black-eyed-susans, courtesy of Winona’s own Prairie Moon Nursery (a longtime collaborator of ours). 

A Spectacular Dining Experience

Nosh’s Greg & Tiffany Jaworski,  crafted a meal and dining experience that beautifully reflected the ethos of our growing nonprofit. The ever-consistent Nosh waitstaff served our 60 guests flawlessly.  The first course was a lightly smoked Superior Fresh salmon. The salmon was served with a turnip puree, baby greens and fry bread. They were drizzled with wojapi, a Native American berry sauce, and sumac.

The second course arrived, and guests were delighted to savor Greg’s take on a three-sisters soup. The soup’s base of heirloom squash and hominy was accented with baby pea tendrils and puffed wild rice. As if the flavors of the soup were not memorable enough, the puffed wild rice proved a nice conversation piece, as most (if not all) attendees had never experienced a puffed rice in soup before. The texture added beautiful complexity to the soup. 

Our meal was centered around the main course: Bison from Winona’s own Rockie Hill Bison Farm. Gail and Dave Griffin, of Rockie Hill Bison, have been a part of Restoravore’s story since before our actual conception as a nonprofit, and it seemed perfectly fitting to focus our meal around a native animal being raised with such a respectful approach on pasture right in our local blufflands. The bison stew featured braised bison, heirloom carrots, turnips, fingerling potatoes, juniper, elderberry, ancho and walnut. Needless to say, for those who had not eaten bison before, it was a perfect first experience with the meat.

After three unique courses, the dessert proved to be nothing short of a grand finale. A puff-pastry filled with roasted pumpkin, topped with apple salsa and maple popcorn rounded out the night. The four flavors combining with their textures was a real treat.

The conversation at the tables never paused, as community members from all pockets of Winona conversed about their common interests and values. From rural farmers to urbanites, academics to industrialists and artists, the back room was a place where all Winonans could come together around good food and shared goals. 

From the fundraising perspective, we were grateful to raise $2000 in net contributions to our non-profit, surpassing our event’s fundraising goal. Additionally, Restoravore T-Shirts were available (for a donation) and a large bison skull from Rockie Hill was auctioned off to the highest bidder. 

What’s Next?

We’d LOVE to be able to provide more events like this- events focused on introducing the community to local/native animal sources, events to build community and neighborhood collaboration, and fundraising events that help us continue to catalyze vibrancy and renewal within our watershed.  If you are not yet on our mailing list and interested in attending events like these or sponsoring an event- please let us know here.