Here at Macrina we love food. We love making food and sharing the food we create each day in our bakeries and cafes. And we look forward to events that allow us to share how we make our sweet and savory creations. Seattle Wine and Food Experience is one of those events.

On Sunday, February 24^th, Macrina will be dishing up deliciousness: Guinness Chocolate Mousse Cake (which will be available in our cafes in time for St. Paddy’s Day). You can nosh to your heart’s content around the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, sampling away at creations from chefs around the Seattle area.

The Seattle Wine and Food Experience is the premier showcase for wine, beer, spirits, and gourmet foods in the Northwest. From the vineyards of Oregon to the fields of Eastern Washington, hundreds of opportunities for tasting wines and gourmet foods will be in one central location to satisfy your gastronomical needs.

The event benefits the Giving Grapes Foundation, a national organization providing assistance to local charities that offer financial assistance to service industry professionals who need to take time off work due to injury or illness. The 2013 non-profit is Big Table, located in our home state in Spokane.

Tickets for the 5^th annual Seattle Wine and Food Experience are available on their website. The event runs from noon to 5pm…think of it as one long happy hour!

During the holidays, we love to get out and showcase some of our products that capture the spirit of the season. Whether it is answering questions on how to make our delicious stuffing at home, or just letting people taste some of our festive breads and pastries, there is a feeling in the air around the holidays that is unmistakable and we’re happy to be a part of it! We’d love for you to join us at one of our demos. We’ll have samples of our delicious Buttermilk Dinner Rolls, our Winter Pear Crown and our Holiday Porcini Stuffing Mix. Catch us throughout the area over the next 6 weeks. You’ll find us at:

Friday, November 16th

     Bainbridge Town and Country          Holiday Porcini Stuffing                     3-6pm

     Westlake Whole Foods                     Buttermilk Dinner Rolls                      3-6pm

     Proctor Metropolitan Market             Holiday Porcini Stuffing                      3-7pm

Saturday November 17th

     Sand Point Metropolitan Market       Holiday Porcini Stuffing                      3-6pm

     Shoreline Central Market                  Winter Pear Crown                             3-6pm

Sunday November 18th

     Interbay Whole Foods                     Buttermilk Dinner Rolls                       11-4pm

     Bainbridge Town and Country        Winter Pear Crown                              3-6pm

     Uptown Metropolitan Market           Holiday Porcini Stuffing                       3-6pm

Monday November 19th

     DeLaurenti Food and Wine             Buttermilk Rolls & Porcini Stuffing        3-6pm

     Lynnwood Whole Foods                 Buttermilk Dinner Rolls                         3-6pm

Tuesday November 27th

     Proctor Metropolitan Market           Winter Pear Crown                                3-7pm

Wednesday November 28th

     Admiral Metropolitan Market          Winter Pear Crown                                 3-7pm

Thursday November 29th

     Sand Point Metropolitan Market    Winter Pear Crown                                 3-7pm

Friday November 30th

     Mill Creek Central Market                                                                             3-6pm

     Kirkland Metropolitan Market        Winter Pear Crown                                 3-7pm

Sunday December 1st.

     Magnolia Metropolitan Market       Winter Pear Crown                                 3-6pm

In 2003, I published my first cookbook, Macrina Bakery & Café, with Sasquatch Books. I felt truly blessed when it became a local best seller, as many aspiring bakers and fans of Macrina took to their kitchens to recreate some of their favorite treats from our cafes.

It’s nearly 10 years later, and Macrina has grown quite a bit. I’ve since worked with my incredible colleagues within the Macrina community to come up with so many new recipes that embrace the bakery’s roots, using locally sourced ingredients and baking and cooking with love and attention to detail. So I’m very excited to announce that on October 30, we’ll be presenting More from Macrina (once again with Sasquatch Books) – a new cookbook featuring several of my favorite recipes for artisanal breads, cakes, scones, pies, muffins and brunch specials from the Macrina kitchen.

In addition to over 70 recipes, More features baking tips and suggestions from our kitchen on “must have” and “nice to have” kitchen supplies, as well as stories about the people and partnerships that have created the Macrina community, all illustrated through beautiful photography by Jim Henkens.

I’m really excited to share this book with our friends and fans, and we’ll be launching a series of events (including book signings and demos at some of our cafes, area bookstores, retailers and some of our partner’s cafes – like Top Pot Doughnuts) where I’ll be sharing a few tips to help you recreate our recipes at home, and where you’ll be able to pick up a signed copy of the book while enjoying some of my favorite Macrina treats.

While More is a cookbook, it’s also the story of Macrina’s history and community with reflections about the people and partnerships that make Macrina such a unique and wonderful place.  The book is a great resource for bakers and chefs of all skill levels, and is a ”thank you” to everyone who has supported us over the years. As we approach the publication date at the end of October, we’ll will be posting more stories about our people, our partners and events we have planned to celebrate More from Macrina. 

I expect you’ll find the book to be a great addition to your home, and I hope it will inspire you to do what we do every day at Macrina – create delicious food that will encourage you to gather with friends and family, share stories and feed your body and soul.

Trusty baguettes in hand, Rebecca Early, Christina Gimenez, Scott and Renee France, Jane Cho, Fanny Alvarado and Anna Moomaw gird for the Dash.

Fire. Cargo net obstacles. Barricades. Rusted out vehicles. Lots and lots of mud. A scene out of some post-apocalyptic nightmare or a pleasantly diverting way to spend a Sunday afternoon? Our staff would say the latter.

During a meeting few months ago, someone (no one can remember who) thought that it would be fun to go on a team-building outing. The Warrior Dash came up, and a week or so later, Scott France was asking who wanted to join in the muddy fun. So a couple of weeks ago, Head Pastry Chef Jane Cho, Wholesale Manager Fanny Alvarado, Wholesale Sales Manager Rebecca Early, Wholesale and Wedding Cake Coordinator Anna Moomaw, Benefits Administrator Christina Gimenez, Scott and Renee France and Matt Galvin ran in this year’s Warrior Dash. The “Macrina Maniacs” as they called themselves steeled themselves for what was sure to be a tough day. The Dash calls itself “as much a mental challenge as a physical one” and the Maniacs agree. Wielding loaves of Macrina baguettes, they ran, crawled, climbed, jumped and scrambled their way over a 3.5-mile course filled with a variety of body-bruising obstacles.

Two obstacles in particular were notable for their difficulty. The Deadman’s Drop was a wall that had small ledges in it for footing about 20 feet high that bowed out slightly at the top. Rebecca said this one was particularly challenging, as you had to throw your leg over the top part of the wall to make it over. The Muddy Mayhem was just gross. Imagine wading chest deep in a chocolate milkshake, except smellier. And muddier.

Both Rebecca and Anna said that it was an extremely challenging course but agreed that they were both exhilarated after the race and were “absolutely” going to run in it next year. Scott saw it was a good chance to get together outside of work and have some fun…even if only one baguette survived the Dash!