Spring 2024 Issue

Last Updated March 31, 2024
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Edible Philly Spring 2024

COMING HOME

I’m thrilled to watch this issue come into the world—it’s been a while. The last time I wrote you this letter, it was spring 2022. I had just accepted a corporate job that prohibited free-lance projects, and I thought my days as this magazine’s editor were over. I wrote that note in tears.

One particular sentence from that letter stands out to me now:

“Before Edible Philly ever launched, Jen Honovic Herczeg, our director of business development, sat with me in Good Karma Cafe on Pine Street dreaming about what this magazine could be.”

Joy ManningSo imagine how I felt when I learned last summer that Jen had bought the magazine and would be Edible Philly’s new publisher. FOMO doesn’t cover it. Weeks later, in one of the greatest “blessings in disguise” of my life, I was laid off from that corporate job and free to join forces with Jen to help shape Edible Philly’s new chapter.

I feel so lucky to be back here with you in these pages. I hope you love this issue as much as I loved making it. It kinda feels meant to be.

Sincerely,
Joy Manning, Editor

MOVING FORWARD

The holiday frenzy and glow has given way to a winter full of snow days and sick days, as well as some heartbreaks. Local entrepreneur, small business and farmers market champion Charisse McGill passed away suddenly in January at the age of 42. Her loss will be felt by the entire local food community.

I met Charisse McGill when she was featured in the Farmers Market Guide in our Summer 2018 issue and she joined us for our ‘Inside the Issue’ event held at Awbury Arboretum. She was larger than life, a force to be reckoned with, a complete joy, a big, bright, beautiful soul, with infectious enthusiasm.

Over the years, our paths crossed again and again from Lansdale Farmers Market to French Toast Bites and beyond; she was a mentor, a colleague and a friend. When she took on the role of Executive Director of the Farmers Market Coalition last year, we excitedly planned ways to partner with Edible Communities. In that spirit, I hope you will consider a donation to the Charisse McGill Legacy Empowerment Fund which aims to carry forward her vision to level the playing field by providing financial support to cover essential expenses, including market vendor fees and booth equipment for BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA-led new farmers market vendors. Donate here: givebutter.com/DZG832

As I attempt to heal my heart, I look optimistically towards Spring. Cliché as it is, Spring evokes feelings of a fresh start and a way forward. It feels fitting to announce our 2024 Local Heroes in this issue - folks championing local food and farming much in the way Charisse did. I am also heartened by Joy’s return to the team and grateful to lean on her as we embark on a new year for Edible Philly, and I’m grateful for all of you.

With gratitude,
Jen Honovic Herczeg, Publisher

SPRING 2024 FEATURES
 

Sor Ynez: A Taste of Mexico in Fishtown

Chef Alex Tellez
Our housemade masa just tastes right

First Field: You Say Tomato

A taste of summer in spring

Weckerly's Ice Cream's Next Chapter

Long before Cristina Torres became the new owner of Weckerly’s Ice Cream in January, she had been a fan.

Pietramala Brews Up Umami-Rich Sauce from Beer Waste

Culinary experiments waiting to happen.

Mother Butter: The Most Local Seed Butter you can buy

Mother Butter’s flax seeds grow very close to home

Small-Batch Vanilla Rhubarb Jam

We know winter is really over when the vibrant red stalks of rhubarb finally pop up at the markets.

Rhubarb & Rose Petal Tart

Adapted from a recipe by Stephanie Cameron, originally published in Edible Santa Fe.

Rhubarb Cake

Although technically a vegetable, rhubarb is used like a fruit in the kitchen, where home cooks prize it for its bright sour notes.

Melissa Lynn Torre: Nourishing Inside and Out

How a chef-turned-soap-maker turns food scraps into skin care

Pop-Ups, Food Trucks, and Coffee Cups: Mat Falco

How a neighborhood café owner helps other food entrepreneurs find their way

Cooks Who Care is Putting Mental Health on the Menu

This industry advocate replaces stigma with solidarity

The Power of Produce: Andrea Vettori

A former nurse turned an abandoned lot into a farm to upgrade community health

Robert and Arielle Ashford: Speakeasy Dreams and Sober Spaces

How one couple built a restaurant empire while creating opportunities for people in recovery

Danielle Ruttenberg: Heart of Glass

How Danielle Ruttenberg keeps sustainability at the center of Remark Glass

Pantry Power: The People's Kitchen

Chef and preserves expert April McGreger works fermentation magic to make the most of food donations at The People’s Kitchen.

Lacto Beets & Fennel with Orange

Recipe courtesy of April McGreger

Move Over, Muenster

The disappearing deli slices that hold one Philly family together
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