Monday, June 18, 2012

A Totally "Def" Culinary Tour

On Saturday, March 24, 2012, the Taste History Culinary Tour of Historic Palm Beach County had the distinct honor of hosting members of the Deaf Red Hat Sunshine Gals of South Florida who are hearing impaired (deaf).  They have an amazing talent of lip-reading and sign-language communication.  For this tour, a wonderful sign-language interpreter named Heather was scheduled.

Deaf Sunshine Red Hatters gather at entrance of Macy's Boynton Beach for the Taste History Culinary Tour of Historic Delray Beach & Boynton Beach, Florida

The point of origin for this food journey was at Macy's Boynton Beach, Florida. From there, Taste History traveled by bus to Delray Beach for the walking and eating in Downtown Delray Beach. The cusines tasted had a unique range and included on this trip Dee Dee's Conch & Rib Shack, Scuola Vecchia and Marianne Gourmet Shop all in Delray Beach. Guests also toured the historic Colony Hotel in Delray Beach. For the tour thru Boynton Beach, Taste History visited the Urban Garden and met "Farmer Sherry" which was followed by a visit to the Ocean Avenue Green Market and Secret Garden Cafe. The finale was a cannoli-making demo and tastings provided at Macy's Boynton Beach by Palermo's Bakery.

The special title for this Blog is "Totally 'Def' Culinary Tour" as an ode to the Deaf Red Hat Sunshine Gals. According to the dictionary  the word "def" means "cool," "hip," or "modern" so its reference in the title is because it was totally "cool," "hip," and "modern" to host the Deaf Red Hat Sunshine Gals for the Taste History Culinary Tour.

Taste History is operated by the non-profit Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History (MLFH). One of the other reasons this tour was so meaningful is because MLFH received a bequest in year 2005 from Patricia Ann Ravo who died of breast cancer. Ravo was born hearing impaired (Deaf) and when she died she left a bequest for MLFH. Click this link for more about the beautiful Patricia Ann Ravo: http://mlfhmuseum.org/patriciaannravofund.html

Took a look at the photos from the tour:


Deaf Sunshine Red Hatters talk with their hands
Bahamian cuisine at Dee Dee's Conch and Rib - the Conch Fritter and Barbecue. The Etymology of Barbecue dates back to the 15th Century when Spaniard Explorers arrived in the Caribbean Islands.  They observed the natives cooking meat or hog over an open-pit which was described by Indians as "barbacoa" or "barabicu." These words were found in the language of the Timucua Indians of Florida, and the Taino, Caribe and Arawak Indians of the Caribbean Islands.  Black Bahamians were among the first Settlers to Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and South Florida.  As they immigrated to the area they brought with them their cuisines such as the Conch Fritter and the Barbecue.

Mr. Willie with Lonnie at Dee Dee's Conch & Rib Shack in Delray Beach, FL

Red Hatter at Dee Dee's Conch & Rib Shack for the Taste History Culinary Tour


Sign-language interpreter Heather in Downtown Delray Beach, FL

Taste History Culinary Tour takes a stroll through Downtown Delray Beach, FL. 
Delray Beach was incorporated as the Town of Delray in year 1911.  

Alessandro, manager at Scuola Vecchia (center), meets sign-language interpreter and a Red Hatter for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Pizza-making at Scuola Vecchia in Downtown Delray Beach, FL

Margherita Pizza originated in Italy in 1889 to resemble the colors of the Italian Flag.  The pizza was named to honor Queen Margherita of Italy.

A certified Brick Oven from Naples, Italy used for the pizzas at Scuola Vecchia which is the only certified pizzeria in the State of Florida


Dolores, Taste History Volunteer, in the lobby at the Colony Hotel in Delray Beach

Sign-language interpreter Heather did a heroic job of sign-languaging for nearly four-hours for the Taste History Culinary Tour.

Homemade foods at the family-owned Marianne Gourmet Shop in Delray Beach, FL

Marianne Gourmet Shop's original recipe - Pesto Cheese Torte

Cookies at Marianne Gourmet Shop in Delray Beach, Florida. The word cookie  derives from the Dutch word koekje or koekie which means little cake, and thisa food arrived in American Colonies through the Dutch. It's been recorded that cookies originated in Persia in the 7th century soon after the use of sugar became popular in the region. Cookies spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain.

Red Hatters line-up for tasty treats at Marianne Gourmet Shop

Marianne Gourmet Shop in Delray Beach
Made-from-scratch Pesto Cheese Torte, Black Bean Salsa and Cookies at Marianne Gourmet Shop in Delray Beach, FL
Heather teaches "Farmer Sherry" how to sign at the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL

The Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL

Kale at the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL

Deaf Sunshine Red Hatters visit the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Sign-languaging in the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Sign-languaging in the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Sign-language specialist Heather. Sign-languaging in the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Sign-languaging in the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Sign-language  interpreting in the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL for the Taste History Culinary Tour

Sign-languaging in the Urban Garden in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL for the Taste History Culinary Tour

The Ocean Avenue Green Market in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL is a farm-to-table non-profit enterprise that includes the neighboring Secret Garden Cafe

"Slow Food" at the Secret Garden Cafe in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL.  Grass-fed sliders were made for the Taste History Culinary Tour

The Secret Garden Cafe also has a culinary incubator program which is so popular it has a long waiting list of chefs and bakers.

Swee-T's Kosher pickle desserts at the Secret Garden Cafe in Downtown Boynton Beach, FL

Swee-T's Rugelach at the Secret Garden Cafe in Downtown Boynton  Beach. FL

Chef Phillip, Taste History Tour Guide Lori, a Red Hatter and Heather, the sign-language interpreter

Finale for the tour was Sicilian pastries in Macy's culinary department.  Tour guests take escalator to The Cellar at Macy's Boynton Beach, FL

The team from Palermo's Bakery of Boynton Beach used the Martha Stewart Collection Domed Cake Stand and Plate which are sold exclusively at Macy's.


Cheese-filling process for the Cannoli demo at Macy's Boynton Beach for the Taste History Culinary Tour.

Custom-made Cannoli's by Palermo's Bakery of Boynton Beach. The Cannoli originated in Palermo which is the capital City of Sicily, Italy.  Cannoli is a Sicilian word that means "little tube."


The Taste History tour guests enjoy the Sicilian Pastries at Macy's


Angela P. Mitchell (center) of Macy's with the Palermo's team.
Deaf Sunshine Red Hatters at Macy's Boynton Beach with Taste History Tour Guide Lori (Right)

To purchase tickets on-line for the Taste History Culinary Tour of Historic Palm Beach County, visit tastehistoryculinarytours.org or call 561-243-2662 or 561-638-8277. Pre-payment is required. Private group tours are also available.

Due to the exceeding popularity of the Taste History Culinary Tours of Historic Palm Beach County, the first seven-months sold-out. To meet the demand for the culinary tours, more dates have been added with the tours being expanded to consist of food samplings in historic Lake Worth including Lantana in Palm Beach County. Therefore, the tours are held at 11am year-round on the second, third and fourth Saturdays of each month, plus private group tours are offered. The Taste History Culinary Tours of Historic Delray Beach & Boynton Beach, Florida is offered on the third and fourth Saturdays of each month. And, Taste History Culinary Tours of Historic Lake Worth & Lantana is held on the second Saturday of each month, year-round, effective April 14th.

The Taste History Culinary Tours of Historic Palm Beach County includes eateries, markets and urban farms in historic Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth and Lantana with some tours also visiting the Macy’s Home Store Department (aka The Cellar) in Boynton Beach for cuisine demos and tastings plus exclusive discounts at Macy’s specifically for the guests on the Taste History Culinary Tour.

The Taste History Culinary Tours are the first food tours of its style in Palm Beach County and are conducted by the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History (MLFH) which is a non-profit 501c3 organization. These food tours include a live guide and are 4-hours with a combination of bus riding and 4 to 6 blocks of walking tour with visits to at least 2 restaurants/eateries/cultural sites for cuisine tastings along with visiting historic districts, buildings and art galleries. There are nearly 20 restaurant/food partners for the culinary tour that are visited on a rotating alternate schedule which means different eateries are visited each tour.  Private group tours are also available. 

Taste History is sponsored in part by Macy's, the Patricia Ann Ravo Fund and the Boris & Edith Rueger Fund.

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The following are upcoming culinary tour 2012 dates:

June 2012:
Saturday, June 9, 2012 at 11am Lake Worth/LantanaSaturday, June 16, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach

Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


July 2012:
Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 11am Lake Worth/LantanaSaturday, July 21, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


Saturday, July 28, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


August 2012:
Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 11am Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach

Saturday, August 25, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


September 2012:
Saturday, September 8, 2012 at 11am Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach

Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


October 2012:
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 11am Lake Worth/LantanaSaturday, October 20, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


Saturday, October 27, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


November 2012:
Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach

Saturday, November 24, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach


December 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 11am Lake Worth/Lantana
Saturday, December 15, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach

Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 11am Delray Beach/Boynton Beach
For more information, call 561-243-2662, e-mail: Tour@TasteHistoryCulinaryTours.org




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