Introducing our 2018 Speakers and Presenters
Ross Purple, Executive Chef
Demonstration Kitchen at 12:00 and 12:45 P.M.
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Chef Ross Purple is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Ross earned his Degree in Culinary Arts from Newbury College in Brookline, MA. Upon graduating, Ross was offered a position at the distinguished LeMeriden Hotel in Boston in the hotel's prestigious four star “Julien” Restaurant where he was able to work alongside Executive Chef Mark Sapienza. In 2009, Ross moved to Charlotte and has done some restaurant consulting, and he operates his own private chef service "Purple's Side of the Table." Purple's Side of the Table offers in home, hands on cooking experiences like no other. Chef Ross Purple is available for private dinner and cocktail parties, interactive cooking demonstrations and classes as well as birthday parties for kids of all ages. Chef Ross recently started meal delivery! During his presentations, Chef Purple will offer tips on preparing perfect risotto. You can get the recipe here. 
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North Carolina Falconry Guild
Ballroom B at Noon
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Brenden McGlinchey is a Union County resident, licensed General Falconer, and member of the North Carolina Falconers Guild.
Two years ago, after decades of fascination with raptors, he and his oldest son entered into the ancient partnership of man and bird of prey. Most weekends during hunting season he can be found wandering the woods stalking squirrels with a feathered partner. During this presentation he will walk through the process of trapping, training, and hunting with a red-tail hawk. |
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Thank you to our 2017 Speakers and Presenters
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SATURDAY @ 9:30am:
Presentation ~ "Seasonal Cooking with Locally Grown Produce and Meats" ... presented by Chef Elaine Templeton & Chef Jorel Morris and the students of the UCPS Culinary Arts Academy and the SPCC Culinary Arts Program. Culinary Arts Program at SPCC It is a two-year degree program that prepares graduates to enter careers in a variety of foodservice settings including full service restaurants, hotels, resorts, clubs, catering operations, contract foodservice and health care facilities. Students learn culinary, baking, sanitation and safety, production skills, nutrition, customer service, purchasing, and human resource management. Courses are offered on evenings and weekends at Porter Ridge High School in Indian Trail. The Culinary Arts program offersplenty of hand-on opportunities at affordable tuition rates. To learn more go to www.spcc.edu.www.spcc.edu.<http://www.spcc.edu.> |
Culinary Arts Academy-
The Union County Public Schools Culinary Arts Academy is available to all UCPS high school students beginning in grade 10. It is housed in Porter Ridge High School in Indian Trail, NC. The facilities include a newly built commercial kitchen classroom with real life work experience built into the curriculum. Students learn how to operate commercial equipment, classical cooking skills, sanitation and safety, and business experience in the food industry. This academy consists of four courses. Students begin with Foods I, which teaches healthy nutritional choices. Students earn the industry recognized ServSafe credential while enrolled in the Introduction to Culinary Arts course. The final course, Culinary II allows students to gain skills in menu planning, meal presentation, and catering. To provide students with real world experiences, the Culinary Arts Academy students provide cooking demonstrations at the Union County Farmers Market several times a year. |
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SATURDAY @ 11:30am:
Presentation ~ "Southern Soul Food" ... presented by CHEF MATTHEW SGANGA, of Stonetable, Monroe, NC (Demo) In 2001, Matthew Sganga began Stone Table restaurant as a small part-time catering service located in Monroe, NC. In 2002, Matthew left the well-loved Sante Restaurant in Matthews, NC where he was working as a chef de cuisine, to cater full time. It was under the training of Adam Reed of Sante that Matthew refined his love for fine food and quality ingredients. At Stone Table "We're a modern Southern kitchen serving down home Southern food with a high-end flare in the heart of Historic Downtown Monroe. We use fresh, local ingredients. It is our belief that to present you with a delicious meal, we must not cut any corners. We call this the Stone Table Way." 
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SATURDAY at 1:00pm
Presentation ~ "Creating the Perfect Container Garden" ... presented by Joy Goforth Learn how to utilize traditional and non-conventional containers to create a dazzling display of colors and textures that will be beautiful all summer long. Joy will show you how to use the same techniques to design containers filled with herbs that are attractive and practical. Plant selection, container types, planting tips, soil selection and fertilizer will be covered. Joy has earned a BS in Agricultural Education/Horticulture from NC State, as well as, a plant Pest Specialist for the NC Department of Agriculture, for the past 14 years. She's worked in all facets of the green industry including teaching, landscaping, grounds maintenance, research and retail. Joy is currently a co-host of "Let's Get Growing" that airs each Saturday morning on WIXE and a weekly gardening columnist for the Enquirer Journal. |
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SATURDAY at 2:00pm
Presentation ~ "Top 10 Tips For Terrific Tomatoes" ... presented by Mary Roberts from Windcrest Organic Farms Ray and Mary Roberts Tarlton are co-owners and managers of Windcrest Farm and Final Touch Construction Services. After twenty years as a corporate instructor and project manager, Mary used her passion for growing plants organically into a business that supplies market farmers and home gardeners with over 250,000 heirloom vegetable, flower and herb plants each year. In addition to growing hard-to-find plant varieties, Mary also conducts on-farm classes to help beginning farmers and gardeners learn the principles and practices of sustainable agriculture. Ray Tarlton is a NC/SC General Contractor, ace greenhouse builder, and our on-farm "MacGyver". http://store.windcrestorganics.com |
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SATURDAY at 3pm
Presentation ~ "Native Plants Along the Heritage Trail" (walk & talk) ... presented by Lisa Tompkins from Carolina Heritage Nursery Lisa Tompkins, a North Carolina native, earned a BA in Psychology from UNC- Charlotte and an AAS in Horticulture Technology from Central Piedmont Community College. She began working as a landscape designer in 2004 with an increasing emphasis on native plants and sustainable design (It’s Elemental Landscape Design). In addition to landscape design, Lisa currently operates a small native plants nursery, Carolina Heritage Nursery. She serves as Co-chair for the NC Native Plant Society – Southern Piedmont Chapter and continues to be an active member in that organization. Lisa is certified in NC Residential Rain Gardening, a NC Plant Professional and finally received her certificate in Native Plant Studies from UNCC Gardens. When not working, she tends her own gardens and scouts the woods and roadsides in search of native plant discoveries in the Carolina Piedmont. |
SATURDAY at 3:30pm
Presentation ~ "The Garden of The Waxhaws" ... presented by: Gladys McCain Kerr Gladys will host a ‘conversation’ about local history. Join Gladys as she shares remembrances of yesteryear in Union County. A native of Waxhaw and a member of the initial Board of Directors for the Andrew Jackson Memorial Foundation. Ms. Kerr is a member and former chapter regent of the John Foster Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. She is also a member of the Waxhaw’s Chapter Daughters of the American Colonists, and is past regent of the Waxhaws Chapter as well as past NC State regent. Her state regent’s project is located on the grounds of the Museum of the Waxhaws. In 1989 she served as president of the Centennial Celebration Committee for the Town of Waxhaw. Ms. Kerr was a member of the mathematics faculty of Wingate University for 40 years. For a more in-depth exploration of Waxhaw's past, Gladys authored the book, Down on the Farm: Red Clay & Rocks, Faith and & Hope, A collection of stories, pictures, tales of the McCain family of Waxhaw, North Carolina, and including the Walkup, Pickens, and Winslow connections. This book traces the McCain family from County Antrim in Northern Ireland to their settlement in the Waxhaw, of the 1700's Carolina frontier. It is a wonderful collection filled with photographs, map, and listing of descendants past and present. The book is available on Amazon. |
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