Bulletin Board
Salmonberry Contest 2022 Saturday evening and a Special Cooking Class with Kirsten Dixon Sunday morning! A 2-Day Event!
by Jenny Chissus
So exciting to be welcoming Kirsten and Mandy Dixon and Valerie Granath as our judges for the competition this year! Seldovia is known for great salmonberries, and many folks have never tried anything but jams or cakes – and our competition has brought amazing talent out of the woodwork! From Sunni’s salmonberry cake and Peggy & Jen’s ice cream, Marcia’s wine to Liane’s chipotle, we have had some incredibly inventive and delicious entries!
The berries are here – so you have a week to pick, plan, prepare and get ready to present your entry by 6pm at the Boardwalk Hotel Saturday night! Besides being a lot of fun, there are prizes for each category as well as a People’s Choice award!
The basic rules:
* Bring your entry to The Boardwalk Hotel restaurant between 6:00pm and 6:30pm
* Recipe MUST include salmonberries
* Please present your entry with a NAME
* You may enter more than one item
* Each entry must have enough to share with 3 judges. It is nice to have extra as we will open a table for public sampling after the judges have tasted each entry. Folks in the audience get to taste these treats and we will have a People’s Choice award!
* You must pick either SWEET or SAVORY category for each entry
* The judges will be rating the entries on appearance/presentation, texture & taste (scale of 1-10)
Check-in your entries and grab a seat and enjoy dinner at the Boardwalk! This is a fun evening, and we thank the Boardwalk Hotel and their entire staff for helping to make the event a success! A lot is going on and it is a great time!
Foraged and Gathered Course Sunday Morning
Sunday morning August 14, 2022, from 9:00am to 10:30am
This is a very special event added this year! A COOKING COURSE with Kirsten Dixon!
If you have ever had the pleasure of taking a cooking class at Tutka Bay Lodge with Kirsten or Mandy and their staff – you know what a treat this is, that they are offering this intimate class right here in Seldovia!
Featured Dish: Seafood tagine prepared with wild edibles from Alaska and spices from Morocco!
You’ll have the opportunity to meet Hicham Hnini, chef at Tutka Bay Lodge, and Timothy Crockett, Executive Chef, and forager for Within the Wild Adventure Company. They will share with you, along with Kirsten Dixon, secrets of their rustic and refined regional cuisine.
Learn how to cook with tagine over a live fire or portable stove and hear the story of how Hicham and Kirsten met on a desert camel farm in Morocco and how he came to live in Alaska.
Kirsten will prepare her version of salmorejo – a cold Spanish tomato soup that is a lodge summer favorite. Tomatoes, cider vinegar, croutons, and smoked salmon make a simple and delicious soup.
The team will also have their cookbooks available for sale.
The cost for this course will be $25.00 per person – all fees are being generously donated to the Seldovia Fire and EMS Department! Thank you Kirsten, Hicham and Timothy! Space is limited and so please contact/text Jenny Chissus at 907-406-0044 to reserve your seat! The class will begin promptly at 9:00am, so please honor this very special event by showing up a few minutes early to settle in and be ready to begin! So thrilled that Kirsten and her team are willing to share their time and expertise with us!
Look! The Salmonberries are back!
UPDATE: August 3, 2021.
Unfortunately, we have decided to postpone this great event! Due to the increased concerns around protocols protecting the health of locals and visitors alike, we have determined that an event focused on food, created in multiple locations and by many individuals, does not have the control necessary for all to feel safe. Our two guest judges have promised that they will do all they can to return next year. So please, save your recipes, and enthusiasm, and pick all these gorgeous berries as they truly are here this year in great abundance! The prizes are bought, all the plans are in place, we will have a wonderful celebration in 2022! So very sorry to disappoint those who are planning their winning entries – but we’ll be back next year!
A crazy thing, but even the salmonberries were no where to be found last year! No buds, no pink flowers (and you know how much I love pink flowers!) and therefore, no berries! So, 2020 didn’t see a Sweet and Savory Salmonberry competition! But the berries are back and so is our fantastic Salmonberry competition! We will continue with the two inspiring categories, Sweet and Savory and we are so looking forward to your incredible, creative and tasty entries! The event and judging will happen outdoors, on the deck (pray for sunshine!) usually under the Boardwalk Hotel’s tented area! One of the highlights of the night is being able to sample these amazing treats, so, when the judging is completed of each entry, we will be passing out samples on individual plates to interested guests who are dining! We will not be having a buffet line as we’ve had in the past.
There are really no specific rules, other than the item has to have salmonberries in it! Obviously, there are judging categories that each entry will be graded on, and we wanted to share them with you this year!
1) Texture (from un-appealing to sublime)
2) Taste (from gag-worthy to mouth-watering)
3) Salmonberry theme (from “where are the berries?” to “I didn’t know salmonberries tasted this good!”)
4) Presentation (from un-appealing to restaurant worthy)
Speaking of judges! We are thrilled to have Kirsten and Mandy Dixon back again this year as our Celebrity judges! Kirsten and her husband Carl own and operate two very beautiful resorts in Alaska – Within the Wild Adventure Lodges! One of their properties is right in our neighborhood on the south side of Kachemak Bay- Tutka Bay Lodge which enjoys beach activities and the beauty of the ocean and the other resort, Winterlake Lodge is at the entrance of the Alaska range along the Iditarod trail. In addition to working in the lodges, Mandy has her own restaurant right on the Homer Spit, La Baleine where she serves the freshest and most organic Alaskan food possible! We are thrilled that they are here again to share in this great event! Kirsten and Mandy also just came out with a brand new cookbook, Living Within The Wild, which is literally a piece of art and storybook all in one! And the beauty of this book? Following Mandy and Kirsten’s recipes, you too, can create incredible dishes designed by two master chefs, internationally known for their Alaskan flare! I’m hopeful they will be bringing a few cookbooks with them to sell and I’m sure they would love to sign them for you as well!
We are that Suzie Stranik, our local chef and gourmet food magician has honored us as our third judge this year! Besides loving to cook and having the ability to make delicious food, (even in large group quantities as a caterer) Suzie makes everything beautiful! From her gardens, to her salads to her artful hats – Suzie breathes beauty! We are excited to have her sitting at our judges table this year – though we’re sad that she won’t have an entry this year, as we look always enjoy her culinary creations!
Here’s all the info you need to know about our competition Summer 2021!
1) Please bring your entry to the Boardwalk Hotel between 5:30pm and 6:30pm on Saturday, AUGUST 7, 2021
2) There must be enough for three judges to sample
3) There must be salmonberry ingredients! Obviously!
4) Please have a NAME for your entry – and a DESCRIPTION (some ingredients, but don’t give it all away!)
5) You may enter multiple times in each category!
6) There are two categories, SWEET & SAVORY. You must choose ONE category per entry.
7) Please label your dishes/serving utensils so that we’re sure to get them back to you
8) We cut up the remaining items and share with the spectators, which has been a really fun part of the event, so please feel free to bring enough of your entry to share with some of the crowd – as we do have a People’s Choice award!
9) There are prizes, and local fame! 🙂
This event is sponsored and hosted by The Boardwalk Hotel and Seldovia Property. We are so looking forward to seeing all the delicious entries this year! Come dine at the Boardwalk and taste some treats and get a few autographs and purchase a new cookbook! 🙂
Roger William Bolton
Submitted by Legacy Funeral Homes
Roger William Bolton, 82, passed away peacefully at the home of his daughter, surrounded by three generations of his family and his faithful companion, Cindy Dog, on December 15th, 2018. Formal services will not be held. Family and close friends will gather on the beach near “his little piece of heaven” and spread his ashes next summer.
Roger was born to Willie O Bolton and Electa O Sparks, on June 1, 1936 in Weed, California. He married Marcia D Powers on May 25, 1957 and together they raised four children. Although later they divorced, they remained very close friends. On February 14th, 1993 He married Betty Lichtner and had twenty-two happy years together until her passing in 2015.
Roger proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1956 to 1960, he retired from the Federal Government as a Computer Programmer in 1994. Since retirement he enjoyed life to his fullest with all generations of his family and friends at his home in Homer, and his cabin at MacDonald Spit. He was a self-taught hard worker and was willing to work beside you as he taught you how to get the job done.
Roger was a strong, yet humble man, who had great pride in his family. He passed on in the same way he lived his life, surrounded by the deep love of his family members. He is survived by his four children and their spouses; Willie K Bolton (Sarah) of Lexington Park, Maryland, Thomas E Bolton (Lorrie) of Coolidge, Georgia, M Louise Franklin (Biff) of Palmer, Alaska, Valeta D Bolton (Blake) of Riverton, Utah and his 1st wife, Marcia D Bolton of Palmer, Alaska. He had twelve grandchildren; Daniel, Nancy, Kristy, Janell, Stephanie, Jennifer, Julianne, Miranda, Samantha, Michael, Jessica and Aaron, and 14 great grandchildren, and his dog Cindy Girl. He is also survived by his sister Eunice, and first cousin Velva. Roger was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters and his wife, Betty. His family requests that in Lieu of flowers donations be made to Ancora Home Health and Hospice whom he was very graciously cared for in his last months. Final arrangements are being made by Wasilla Heritage Chapel.
Sweet & Savory Contest was a Delight!
by Jenny Chissus
Event Flier
In spite of the blustery and rainy weather, the evening was a huge success! Thanks to Jeremiah and Angela at the Boardwalk Hotel who in addition to hosting this fun event, entertained us with great music from Keeley, Nelson and Kelsey all evening!
We had delicious entries in the competition, this year in both Sweet and Savory categories as well as a People’s Choice category!
Savory …
First, let’s talk about the SAVORY entries! It was so interesting as this category truly opened the door to some exciting and unexpected entries! We love to challenge our Seldovia chefs!
In the Savory category, we had fried chicken wings in a crystalized ginger salmonberry sauce, steak and sausage bites with BBQ salmonberry dipping sauces, caramelized onion and salmonberry cream cheese spread, salmonberry wine and even a salmonberry relish!
Thanks to Marcia, Liane, Ginny, Chris, Karen and MaryJo, we had some amazing entries in the new category this year!
Sweet…
In the SWEET category, we had a wide variety of treats as well! From fresh salmonberry pie, salmonberry cream cheesecake, salmonberry zinger cake, salmonberry jello cheesecake, salmonberry glazed cheesecake, salmonberry kookaberry cake, salmonberry mascarpone shortcake, salmonberry cupcake bites to another salmonberry ice cream!
People’s Choice…
We had another fun category this year, based on last year’s success of sharing the remaining entries with the crowd! So after each sampling was taken by the judges, then the remainder went to our tasting table – where the spectators at the event could sample the treats! Everyone at the event had a ticket and were given the opportunity to pick ONE favorite! It was interesting as 71% of the votes were cast for entries in the SWEET category! And, in the end all three PEOPLES CHOICE winners were in the Sweet category!
And our 3 Judges…
We want to acknowledge and thank our three judges this year! All three were winners in last year’s competition! Angela Campbell who owns, operates and cooks at the Boardwalk Hotel Pub and Grill, Melissa Pederson who owns, operates and cooks at the Harbor Inn Coffee & Gifts and Peggy Cloninger who has retired from almost 30 years running a successful fishing charter and B&B here in Seldovia!
All three of these ladies are amazing cooks who have owned and cooked in restaurants and B&Bs, so they understand the importance of tasty dishes and presentation!
Peggy actually wasn’t able to participate last year as she was headed out of town, so she gave her recipe to Jen Swick, who brought home 1st place last year making & submitting Peggy’s delicious Salmonberry Ice Cream! Crazy – that this year’s winner was also an ice cream!
Thank You … Thank You … Thank You
Awesome Glass Etching by Ecola Collier
Thank you to all the participants who submitted their delicious treats! Obviously, there would be no competition without you!
In addition to thanking again the Boardwalk Hotel Pub and Grill and the entire staff who ran and ran all night to keep food and drinks coming, during the music and the competition, I also want to thank Bovey Trophies for a fantastic job on the ribbon awards! They always do a great job, quickly and at a great price!
Thank you to Alaska Air Taxi who made sure that the awards made it down to Seldovia, and Jeremiah Campbell who packed them in his suitcase!
I also want to acknowledge Ecola Collier who did a fantastic job with the etching on the award jars, creating the artwork and etching the glass so beautifully!
Thanks to Seldovia Property, who sponsored awards, commissioned artwork and planned and organized the event.
Savory Winners!
Liane – Savory 1st Place Steak & Sausage Bites with Salmonberry BBQ Dipping Sauces
Marcia – Savory 2nd Place Marcia’s Salmonberry Juice (wine)
MaryJo – Savory 3rd Place Salmonberry Relish
Sweet Winners!
Jinnifer – Sweet 1st Place Salmonberry Lemon curd Ice cream
Liane – Sweet 2nd Place Salmonberry Mascarpone Shortcake
Rebecca – Sweet 3rd Place Salmonberry flavored Cupcake Bites
People’s Choice Winners!
Elaine – 1st Place – People’s Choice Salmonberry Kookaberry Cake
Erin – 2nd Place – People’s Choice Fresh Salmonberry Pie
Jinnifer – 3rd Place – People’s Choice Salmonberry Lemon curd Ice cream
Seldovia Time
