The Gourmet group meets four times a year and always welcomes new members.

One meeting is a picnic at the beach.

Our first meeting (dinner) will be in late October or early November.

We usually have a theme. Last year we did Pacific Rim countries and before that women chefs.

This year we will build on the theme of our October branch meeting, which is a picnic and tour of the Kona Tropical Fruit and Coffee Garden.

The garden began as the "12 trees project." Local chefs were asked what fruits they would like to use more of in their menus, and these trees were planted in the garden. It is a joint project of the Kona Pacific Farm Coop, Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers, UH Agricultural Extension, West Hawaii Community College Food Services program and others.

The unifying concern is the concept of agricultural sustainability: how can small farmers grow profitable crops on a few acres, and how can the island of Hawaii be more self sustaining by growing rather than importing food.

So we will try to craft menus using as much locally grown and diverse produce as possible. We are talking about fruits such as Surinam cherries, jaboticaba, poha berries and loquats.

We are looking forward to delicious eating adventures and learning more about our island's diverse agricultural habitats.

Barbara Knehner & Marty Barry
Gourmet Group co-Chairs