Chef Kimberly Medici in the kitchen
A couple of months ago I attended the standing-room-only ribbon cutting and grand opening of a very unique, beautifully furnished and badly needed business in El Dorado county, Manzanita Kitchen & Events.
It is a 3300 square food event space (130 seated, 262 standing) and kitchen, located at 4232 Fowler Lane, Suite 101, behind the Diamond Springs Post office, and perfect for receptions and parties, meetings, mixers, wine dinners, luncheons, performances and more.
Because it is a full facility with a commercial kitchen, you can get gourmet food prepared for your event by Table Nectar, Manzanita’s in-house, full service caterer that prides itself in using the freshest, most flavorful seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients available.
The well equipped, 1200 square foot, licensed commercial kitchen is also available for hourly or monthly use and ideal for catering, retail packaged products, canning, farm stand products, classes, family meal preparation, food carts and other businesses needing this kind of facility. It is perfect place for a start-up food business to learn, advance and grow, without an investment in their own, very expensive, commercial kitchen.
Back to the grand opening event, it was a bit of everything and showcased the new facility nicely, especially since it was beautifully enhanced with walls of wonderful art by Paul Cockrell, Francis Kenney and Leah Delmer.
Four local wineries, Mellowood Vineyard, Fitzpatrick Winery, Findleton Winery and Chateau Davell, were there pouring wines to match the appetizers that were being prepared for the guests by Table Nectar and other business using the facilities. Also available were samples of a very interesting, locally produced effervescent fermentation of sweetened tea called Down Dog Kombucha.
El Tamelero – The Tamale Man, had several kinds of delicious tamales to sample, including vegetarian, beef, chicken and chili-cheese, while Farmer’s Delicatessen – Fresh European Specialities, served several dishes, including samples of a delicious baklava (yes, I ate more than one), a very nice Romanian eggplant salad known as vinetta and the very refreshing Greek cucumber-yogurt dip, Tzatziki. South Fork Farm, from the Gold Hill area, supplied fresh produce for Table Nectar, the in-house caterer.
Table Nectar really outdid themselves with appetizers, and had several servers wandering through the crowd with full trays (but not for long) of Meyer lemon-herbed chicken skewers, Caribbean-spiced chicken skewers, coconut corn medallions, snap pea gazpacho, beef Marsala sliders (with pickled watermelon radish), endive leaves filled with shaved fennel, strawberry and lemon ricotta, along with balsamic beef crostini, braised chard crostini and sun dried tomato crostini.
Adding a wonderful touch to the ambiance was Rita & Soul, who provided live music.
Also available to the guests were brochures and, in some cases, representatives from businesses such as Slow Food, Gold Country Chapter; Mama Earth Farm in Somerset and Harmony Hill Farm, which is located between Mt. Aukum and Fiddletown.
Manzanita Kitchen & Events is family owned and operated by Placerville native, Kimberly Medici, and her husband Andy Tannehill. It is supported by their family, crew and larger community of farmers, winemakers, independent producers, food lovers and artists of all manner.
Their mission is simple and very straightforward: “We are dedicated to creating relationships with our clients and community that help to grow local businesses, nourish our families and honor the environment.”
Call 530-344-7613 for a free tour and consultation, or check out their website for more information on how you can rent this great venue for your next event, party or celebration, or use the kitchen in your business. Their website is www.manzanitadiamondsprings.com.