from the press release:

The 2008 New Hampshire Growers’ Dinner series gets underway on June 25 at the Dunaway Restaurant at Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth. This series of special dinner events, organized by the NH Farm to Restaurant Connection, highlights the use of local farm and food products at local restaurants.The Dunaway is located on the grounds of Strawbery Banke Museum. The museum, through its restored houses, its featured exhibits, its historic landscapes and gardens, and its interpretive programs, tells the stories of the many generations who settled in the Portsmouth, NH, community from the late l7th to the mid-20th century. Visitors to Strawbery Banke have the opportunity to experience and imagine how people lived and worked in this typical American neighborhood throughout four centuries of history.

The Dunaway at Strawbery Banke serves Contemporary American Cuisine, with an emphasis on local. With the abundance of commercial fishing boats right near by, local seafood is a specialty here, but is not outdone by the excellent regionally sourced land-based fare.  The cuisine draws heavily from fresh, local produce, including historic and rare herbs, fruits and vegetables grown at Strawbery Banke’s own working kitchen gardens.

Executive Chef Ben Hasty is a rising star in the culinary scene.  From growing up on a farm in South Berwick, Maine to working under Thomas Keller at The French Laundry, Hasty combines his culinary talents and deeply rooted respect for local and seasonal ingredients with the historic working kitchen gardens at Strawbery Banke.  Chef Hasty’s menu for June 25th will include fresh-from-the-boat seafood, seasonal produce, a selection of NH’s very best cheeses, pork from the chef’s family farm and a delightful version of strawberry shortcake.

Growers’ Dinner events are coordinated by the New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection, a program linking New Hampshire farms with New Hampshire restaurants.   The Growers’ Dinner at [1] the Dunaway is also sponsored by [2] McIntosh Atlantic Culinary Academy in Dover and [3] Seacoast Eat Local, an organization that works to connect consumers with sources of locally grown and locally made foods.
Call the Dunaway at 373-6112 for dinner details and reservation information.

 For more information about the NH Farm to Restaurant Connection, contact Gail McWilliam Jellie at the NH Dept. of Agriculture, Markets & Food, tel.271-3788, email: [4] gmcwilliam@agr.state.nh.us  or visit [5] www.nhfarmtorestaurant.com.