White Cow Dairy and Rene Russo at Wegmans

So, fellow Locavore blogger Ann and I went to an event this morning at the McKinley Wegmans today featuring Patrick, the farmer from White Cow Dairy, and Hollywood actress Rene Russo (Major League, The Thomas Crown Affair, etc). As we arrived we ran into Lisa Tucker of Edible Buffalo with whom I'd shared e-mails and a phone conversation, though we'd never met in person. We had a great conversation about some exciting local food things coming up (what I'm most excited about? maple weekend in March--check it out in the winter issue at http://www.ediblebuffalo.com).

Then Ann and I went over to the sampling area where Ms. Russo was greeting people and helping pass out samples of yogurt from White Cow. Apparently, she is a friend of Patrick, the farmer/owner of White Cow, and came out to Buffalo to help him promote the expanded sales of his yogurt at Wegmans. If you are a regular at the Bidwell-Elmwood Farmer's Market you have probably met Patrick before--a rangy, friendly guy who is very enthusiastic about his work at the dairy. Patrick's farm also produces maple syrup, though he is not the maple expert--he has an arrangement with his neighbors where they take on the maple syrup processing.

White Cow Dairy yogurt is delicious. Tangy, almost like Greek yogurt, and made in small batches in a variety of flavors. There is even a new flavor named in honor of President Obama. The yogurt is sold in glass containers, which helps keep the flavor fresher. The yogurt is sweetened with maple syrup from the farm.

Ann and I had the chance to talk with Rene Russo for a few minutes and she seemed truly delighted to be in Buffalo, despite the cold. She said it was a nice break from LA. A really pleasant and lovely woman, and nice to see her putting some star power behind a Buffalo-area product that she believes in.


Here are some pictures from this morning's event:

Patrick, farmer and yogurt genius

Rene Russo

Lisa Tucker and one of the interns from Edible Buffalo