Many of you are aware that the County Dept. of Planning and Environment has expressed some concerns regarding our Friday Mornings @SELMA activities.  In early May I shared several conversations with Kristen Schweighoefer, an environmental Health Supervisor in that department.  After those conversations, we made a number of changes to address the County’s concerns.

Ms. Schweighoefer, looking for more clarification about the laws that she feels apply to us, contacted Richard Fleece, Interim Health Officer for his opinion.  Last week we received a letter and attachment from both of them again sharing their concerns that we are a food establishment because they believe we are “marketing to the general public”.  Although we conclude we have adequately addressed this issue by creating a protocol that includes a personal invitation to come to our house, they were not satisfied.

Consequently, we are again updating our website to avoid further interest from them regarding our Friday morning activities.  Below is a copy of the recent letter I sent to Kristen.  Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information or clarification.

Enjoy this first week of Summer! ~Lisa

Dear Kristen,

We received your letter and attachment following up on our conversations in early May. I noticed that you are still referring to our home activities as Selma Café. Weeks ago, per your suggestion, we changed the name from Selma Cafe to Friday Mornings @ SELMA to clear up any confusion around anyone thinking we are a food establishment. In addition to changing the name, we also made other changes based on the information you shared with me outlining your concerns to move us away from being under your department’s jurisdiction.

The changes we made after our phone conversations, in addition to changing our name, include revamping our website specifically per your suggestions, no longer having any signage on or around our property, no longer stating our start and end times, no longer calling anyone involved in our activities “guest chef” or “servers”, and making it clear in all our communications and website information that we are a hosting a private party in our home, by invitation only. Obviously, what others may write, blog, tweet or discuss about our activities is not under our control, nor should what other people say or do be under your control or jurisdiction. We are sharing information only within the format you suggested to us and we will continue to do so.

In the attachment you sent to us, prepared by Richard Fleece, Interim Health Officer, in addition to numerous errors of fact based on the original anonymous letter that was sent to the County, and which I have satisfactorily addressed with you previously, he continually states we are “marketing to the general public”. This is a mistake on his part. After our conversations in early May, Jeff and I created new protocol to make it clear that we are not inviting the general public to our home, and that people need a personal invitation from Jeff or me to come into our home. Mr. Fleece states that he feels “this is not a persuasive position”. We respectfully disagree with his limited and mistaken assessment of our activities.

There is a distinct difference in definition between general public and community. The definition of community, in terms of our activities, is a group made up of our family and friends, and their family and friends, who are interested and involved in creating sustainable farming and gardening practices that support our local, healthy food economy while educating and encouraging long term positive changes to how we grow, prepare and eat food. This community comes together to work towards our mission, while sharing a meal together in the confines of a private party within our home.

To further assuage any concerns you, Mr. Fleece, or the County may still have, we have again changed our website to reflect this distinction. We have updated and added information to our website clearly stating we are not open to the general public, and instead are interested and invested in growing the local foods community by specifically inviting those who are interested in our mission and goals and who want to join in the adventure this community supports. We are hopeful that these additional changes will appropriately addresses your stated concerns and prevent us from needing any further attention from your department.

Sincerely,

Lisa Gottlieb

Jeff McCabe

It has been a very busy couple of weeks which contributed to me getting a bit behind on posting about our FM @SELMA goings-on.

Last week FM @SELMA’s very own Nevon Clark (son of Lisa, step-son of Jeff, dishwasher and porter at eve the restaurant, and all around great guy) graduated from Pioneer High School. Congratulations Nev! We’re proud of you!

Here’s the update:
Two weeks ago we were lucky enough to have a return appearance in our kitchen of our friend Silvio, of Silvio’s Organic Pizza. Silvio cooked up fried calzone served 4 ways, along with bite-sized portions of cinnamon and sugared jelly doughnuts. A side of hoop house greens complemented his specials perfectly. We are always amazed at Silvio’s cool and collected temperament in our kitchen. It’s a pleasure when he graces us with his skills and smiles.

This week we had some new friends cooking up some delicious breakfast grub. Emil Boch and Monica Scholz “The Kosher Gourmet” Chefs & Caterers dazzled us with two specials: Mushroom & Asparagus Quiche with Local Grassfield’s Cheddar, and Fried Green Tomatoes with Pancetta and Roasted Tomato Aioli. Both of these options were amazing. The quiche was rich and savory, loaded with asparagus and mushrooms nestled in a super creamy egg custard inside a melt in your mouth butter crust. The fried green tomatoes were a huge hit. It was no wonder after I got a taste–perfectly fried batter surrounding the bright green fruit, topped with a slightly spicey aioli that brought out all the rich flavors of the tomatoes. We loved their herb infused dressing that topped the hoop house greens served with both the breakfast specials.

Emil and Monica are self trained chefs living in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. Their cooking style emphasizes regional slow foods using fresh local ingredients. They currently work out of the Kosher kitchen at Hillel, but in their spare time enjoy using an array of cured pork products. They do Kosher, Vegan and Vegetarian Catering…but also provide home cooking classes, rent-a-chef, and other services.

They can currently be reached via email at kosherchef@hotmail.com, and look for them as From the Hearth, coming this fall. They will be starting a food blog in July when they return from their honeymoon roadtrip, having eaten and biked their way through the Northeastern U.S.
Monica and Emil were great fun to have in the kitchen, making it all look easy. And this a week before they are tying the knot! Congratulations on your nuptials and best wishes to you both from all of us!

We also served up our usual waffles with fruit and yogurt and granola parfaits, with fresh local strawberries the fruit of choice for most.

As usual, we had a fabulous group of volunteers the last few weeks–for both Thursday night prep and Friday morning breakfast. We work hard, have fun, and are ready to welcome anyone who wants to join in the camaraderie of our enthusiastic volunteer crew. Let us know and we will find a job for you!

If you would like to come to Friday Mornings @SELMA and haven’t yet, please take a moment to contact us so we can personally invite you come join our weekly festivities.