GRIST FOR THE MILL

Fostering connections in the local food community has always been the mission of Edible Monterey Bay magazine, but this year we doubled down and designated 2022 our year of collaborations. Collaborating is just what we’ve been up to. This special cocktail issue you’re reading is the result of one alliance, this one with Event Santa Cruz—Matthew Swinnerton’s community-focused company behind Midtown Fridays Summer Block Parties and the NEXTies Awards. Together we are hosting the first-ever Monterey Bay Cocktail Week from September 17 to 25 and response has been enthusiastic, with 19 bars and restaurants participating so far. Recipes and photos of some of their special Cocktail Week drinks can be found in this issue, along with stories intended to up your cocktail game and inspire you to try something new.

So please mark your calendar and plan for several nights out on the town the third week of September, visiting participating establishments. It’s going to be a blast!

The foundation of our publication, of course, is the partnership we have with our much-appreciated advertisers, many of which have been with us since the magazine started in 2011. Over the years, we have also developed strong collaborations in the non-profit sector with the Homeless Garden Project, MEarth, EcoFarm, Farm Discovery at Live Earth Farm and the annual Open Farm Tours—coming up this year on October 8 and 9.

Then there are two new projects we want to let you know about. This summer Edible Monterey Bay collaborated with Hagerty, the specialty car insurer, to produce the Motorlux kickoff party for Car Week at the Monterey Jet Center. We were asked to help organize chefs and catering for the August 17 event with special emphasis on showcasing the best, most sustainable local foods the Monterey Bay area has to offer.

The party for 2,500 guests was beyond compare thanks to our amazing local participating chefs: David Baron, Matthew Beaudin, Brad Briske, Todd Fisher, Klaus Georis, Ivan Guadarrama, Dexter Salazar, Jérôme Viel, Tim Wood and the entire Coastal Roots Hospitality team. We can’t wait to do it again next year.

Lastly, we are excited to announce a new collaboration with Visit Santa Cruz County. The destination management organization is charged with promoting the north side of the Monterey Bay to visitors and realized many of the stories in EMB do just that.

Together we will be creating a new style of visitor guide based in good local journalism that introduces tourists and potential tourists to the people who make Santa Cruz County the very special place it is. The first issue of the new VSCC Visitor Guide produced and edited by Edible Monterey Bay will be released in early 2023.

At a time when so many print publications are facing difficulties, I’m grateful to report we are finding our way through these tough times with new collaborations. As the song goes, we’re better together!

Deborah Luhrman Publisher

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Deborah Luhrman deborah@ediblemontereybay.com 831.600.8281

FOUNDERS Sarah Wood and Rob Fisher

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Mark C. Anderson

COPY EDITOR Doresa Banning

LAYOUT & DESIGN Matthew Freeman and Tina Bossy-Freeman

AD DESIGNERS Bigfish Smallpond Design Coline LeConte • tracysmithstudio Zephyr Pfotenhauer

CONTRIBUTORS Jeff Bareilles • Robert Eliason • Margaux Gibbons • Coline LeConte • Carol Oliva • Ashley Owen • Paulette Phlipot • Joshua Grant Rose Chris Schmauch • Tracy Smith • Laura Sutherland • Michael Troutman • Shmuel Thaler Patrick Tregenza • Jessica Tunis • Amber Turpin

ADVERTISING SALES ads@ediblemontereybay.com • 831.600.8281 Shelby Lambert shelby@ediblemontereybay.com Kate Robbins kate@ediblemontereybay.com Aga Simpson aga@ediblemontereybay.com

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Mick Freeman • 831.419.2975

CONTACT US: Edible Monterey Bay P.O. Box 487 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 ediblemontereybay.com 831.600.8281 info@ediblemontereybay.com

Edible Monterey Bay is published quarterly. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. Subscriptions are $28 per year at ediblemontereybay.com. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our apologies and notify us. We also welcome letters to the above address. Thank you.

Printed on recycled paper