Festival Country Kitchen Experience Enhanced
Now offering personalized cooking demonstrations and meals for up to 8 guests per day
KUTZTOWN, PA (April 5, 2019) — At this year’s 70th annual Kutztown Folk Festival, the “Country Kitchen” presentation will be enhanced with an authentic Pennsylvania Dutch meal complete with “seven sweets and seven sours” tradition, all cooked on a 1920’s era wood stove. And for the first time, attendees will be able to partake in a meal cooked in the country kitchen during a 45-minute historical cooking presentation and meal limited to just eight guests per day.
Visitors will step back in time as they are led by Kutztown’s own Esser family, Joyce and her son Matt, as well as area historian Terry Berger, on a cooking demonstration that will begin with an explanation and display of the key features of a 100-year-old mock kitchen. Cooking tools, utensils, and vintage storage containers are just a few of the working artifacts on display and in use. The “center-piece” cooking stove will be in full operation as the day’s meal is prepared on it.
This up-close and personalized presentation will be followed by a multi-course sit-down family style meal in the country kitchen where visitors will enjoy the traditional PA Dutch foods prepared in the kitchen just in time for the 1 p.m. meal.
Limited to just eight guests, the daily menu will vary among numerous traditional delicacies such as pork roast, baked ham, baked chicken, schnitz and knepp, ham and string beans, chicken pot pie, dumplings, lettuce with hot bacon dressing, pepper cabbage, cottage cheese and apple butter, red beat eggs, chow-chow (pickled vegetables), fresh baked bread, fruit pies, apple cobbler, rice pudding, and mint tea just to name a few. Hungry, this traditional PA Dutch meal is sure to be an experience that will not be forgotten!
The festival’s country kitchen has been a staple at the region’s most unique summer festival for decades, offering visitors a glimpse into the tradition of how Pennsylvania Dutch meals were prepared with ornate cast iron, wood burning, stoves. Gaining in popularity and becoming more affordable, these four plate top stoves, complete with an oven and warming space were the “modern luxury” of the time in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s
Due to the limited seating of just eight guests per day, visitors are encouraged to reserve seats in advance. Same day reservations can be made on-site at the country kitchen if openings are available. For meal pricing and reservations, please contact Linda Ernst by phone at 610.683.1597 or 888.674.6136, by email at Ernst@KutztownFestival.com
The 70th Annual Kutztown Folk Festival runs June 29th thru July 7th 2019.
About the Kutztown Folk Festival
The Kutztown Folk Festival is the oldest continuously operated folklife festival in America. Held in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, the nine-day festival draws visitors from all over the world, entertaining families while providing insight and understanding of the traditions of the Pennsylvania Dutch and their fascinating way of life. The Kutztown Folk Festival features authentic folklife demonstrations, a wide variety of Pennsylvania Dutch food; over 200 nationally recognized, juried folk artists and traditional American craftsmen; over 2,500 locally hand-made quilts on display and for sale; antiques and collectables; six stages of entertainment; music and dancing; and a wide range of children's activities.