Photo courtesy Pickled and Fermented Festival
When I was 3 years old, my mom walked in the kitchen to find my face buried deep in a pickle jar. There weren’t actually any pickles inside, but it was filled with the brine — a funky, acidic concoction of vinegar, garlic and pepper. I was, and continue to be, infatuated.
It seems that I am not alone. On Saturday, Oct. 13, the Artisan Pickle Club hosts its third annual Pickled & Fermented Festival at Center of the Universe (COTU) Brewing in Ashland in celebration of jarred, soured, brined, zesty offerings in every shape, size and style.
People either tend to love or hate pickles, and when they love pickles, they tend to really love them. Larkin Garbee and Ashley Ray, founders of the Artisan Pickle Club, are the latter. When the duo met in 2013, they discovered they had one major thing in common: Both were pickle fanatics.
“I’ve always loved pickles,” explains Ray, who shares that she recently received a series of pictures of her 4-year-old niece eating pickles, sharing them with family members and proceeding to drink the juice — my kind of kid.
“Seeing that made me feel like the proudest aunt,” she exclaims, laughing.
Garbee and Ray decided to host a secret pickle gathering, just the two of them, at 804RVA, a co-working space Garbee founded, and brought a plethora of pickles to sample and enjoy. Soon after, they decided to share their pickle addiction with others and started hosting public pickle meetings at 804RVA.
“It’s like craft beer homebrewing before that was a thing,” says Garbee of the Pickle Club.
“Meetings are a small group of pickle nerds,” says Garbee, who explains that hunting down craft pickles usually involves a little exploring, since they are typically not found on grocery store shelves next to the Claussens and Vlasics of the world.
By 2016, the Pickled & Fermented Festival was born.
One of the biggest components of the festival is the competition. (Full disclosure: I am on this year's judging panel.) Entry is open to anyone, and competitors range from chefs and restaurateurs to purveyors, farmers and homegrown pickle fanatics.
Competition categories include sweet, savory, dill, bread and butter, kimchi, relish, sauerkraut, drinkables, and a pickled product using COTU beer. The most popular category, with the most entries every year, is dill pickles. For the past two years, Carrot Top Farm has won dill bragging rights.
Garbee says the long-term goal is to see competitors transition from showcasing their products to becoming full-blown vendors, if they aren’t already. Matt’s Dirty Pickles, a local purveyor from Midlothian, sampled his bacon pickles at the Pickle Club a couple of years ago, and now you can find his products at South of the James Market, Aw Shucks Country Store and other local shops.
The festival hosts 11 chef-led demos, giving attendees the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of cooking with pickled and fermented goods. Area chefs include David Crabtree-Logan and Sariann Lehrer, owners of the Broken Tulip Social Eatery; Jay Metzler from Idle Hands Bakery; Darryl Boyd of Comfort; Keva Miller from Feedshine; Chef Coco; Jawsh Kiddrige from UnMoo, a vegan cheese company; as well as out-of-towners from Lynchburg, Roanoke and Williamsburg.
“It’s hard to get chef engagement. … This is a way for them to be involved and share their craft,” says Garbee.
The Pickled & Fermented Festival also offers tasting experiences from vendors, live music, a pickle juice drinking competition — my dream, realized — and a pickled gose beer release from COTU.
Don’t let preconceived pickle notions hold you back from attending; Garbee says offerings tend to get exotic, ranging from pickled butternut squash to sour paw paw kombucha; spicy relish; sourdough with candied pecans, brown sugar and bourbon; and pickled peanuts.
Larkin Garbee’s Top 3 Pickled Products
1. Pickled sunchokes from Carrot Top Farm
Out of Caroline County, Carrot Top Farm began in 2011 and focuses on non-GMO practices. The company is a two-time festival winner with its pickled sunchokes, one of their specialty crops. “I always get excited about what they're producing,” says Garbee.
2. Fennel-juniper sauerkraut from Wild Earth Fermentation
Based in Fulton Hill, Wild Earth Fermentation specializes in funky, acidic and gut-friendly offerings without using vinegar, heat or preservatives. Ground fennel and juniper in the sauerkraut are combined with caraway seeds that provide a peppery, earthy balance.
Ninja, the only Richmond-based kombucha, launched in 2015 and has been known get folks hooked from their first sip of the effervescent fermented tea. Popular flavors include lemon-ginger and blackberry-hibiscus.
A pickle tasting passport and general admission to the festival are $10. VIP tickets are $50 and include exclusive tastings, access to a private beverage line, two complimentary beer tokens and private catering with “pickle-inspired” appetizers. Children 18 and under are free.
