The Edible Garden Returns to The New York Botanical Garden June 19 - October 17, 2010

NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Throughout the summer and into autumn, The New York Botanical Garden presents The Edible Garden, an exhibition about growing and preparing good food.  Set across the 250-acre Botanical Garden landscape from June 19 through October 17, 2010, the exhibition celebrates locally grown, seasonal food through demonstrations from food and gardening experts every day; appearances by Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich, Rick Bayless, Daisy Martinez, Dan Barber, Sara Moulton, and others during four festival weekends; and programs that demonstrate the bounty, economy, and nutritional value of edible plants.  Featuring four spectacular kitchen gardens and cooking demonstrations every day, The Edible Garden teaches visitors how to grow the best food at home.  Proceeds benefit the Children's Gardening program.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100616/NY22328 )

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100616/NY22328 )

Celebrity chefs narrate The Edible Garden Audio Tour through which visitors can discover where their food comes from and how it gets to their table.  Listeners can also receive text messages with nutritional information, recipes, tips, and facts about growing food.  The Audio Tour is sponsored by Bloomberg and accessible by cell phone.

Four festival weekends during The Edible Garden offer visitors the chance to discover the origins of food and learn about the plants and plant parts that they eat every day.  The Edible Garden launches with Get Out and Grill, a summer grilling opening weekend on June 19 and 20, just in time for Father's Day that Sunday.  Celebrity chefs provide healthy cooking demonstrations in the Conservatory Kitchen featuring gourmet cookware and other kitchenware from Anolon®, a major sponsor, and state-of-the-art, outdoor kitchen equipment provided by Viking Range Corp.  Food prepared in the Conservatory Kitchen is provided by Whole Foods Market.  Visitors can also sample a selection of food and beverage products from vendors at the Tasting Terrace and learn about Garden scientists' research projects involving edible plants at Cafe Scientifique.  Macy's is the supporting sponsor of the Tasting Terrace.

Additional festival weekends are scheduled for Fiesta de Flores y Comida, a celebration of Latin American and Caribbean food and flowers, on September 25 and 26; Family Harvest (Columbus Day Weekend), on October 9, 10, and 11; and the Fall Finale, October 16 and 17.

Each weekend during the four months of The Edible Garden feature cooking demonstrations by chefs such as Keith Snow and food blogger Cathy Erway with special themes based on seasonal ingredients.  Rick Bayless and Peter Hoffman make a special appearance on September 12.

In addition to the Saturday and Sunday weekend demos, each day offers something to see: "Cooking for Kids" every Tuesday and Wednesday at 11 a.m., "Cooking for Your Health" every Wednesday at 12:30 p.m., "Cooking for the Season" every Thursday at 2 p.m., and "Whole Foods Market Fridays" every Friday at 2 p.m.

For more information, including admission pricing, visit nybg.org or call 718.817.8700.

SOURCE The New York Botanical Garden