About The Mad Turk...

Chef/Owner Musa Alici of Alici’s Bistro, Brattleboro VT was born in Istanbul Turkey, 1965. Mr. Alici Began working in the food and beverage industry age 11 for several family owned restaurants in Istanbul. It was noted during his high school years, that he had a rather distinct style of cooking that had enhanced some of the local fare from that region.  Mr. Alici studied Economics at The University of Istanbul, Business Management at Yidiz University and Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania University – eventually obtaining two college degrees in Business Management and Hotel/Restaurant Management.

Feeling it was important to understand the many facets of the food and beverage industry, he pursued positions with some of the most renowned chefs at that time. He has worked for the cruise ship industry, five star hotels, specialty resorts and country clubs around the world. Having always had a tenacious desire to learn and perfect upon, it is evident of his current success.

In 2000, Mr. Alici opened his first restaurant, The White Rainbow in Gloucester Mass. It did not take very long to be recognized and rated by Fodor’s, Zagats and Mobil, also receiving The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.  Published in the NY Times for being a great restaurant on the northeastern Jazz trail. The Boston Globe called The White Rainbow, the “Second Renaissance” and that “Chef Musa Alici has a deft touch with fish”.

In the spring of 2005, Mr. Alici had decided to go for a drive without any idea of where the road would lead him.  He arrived in Brattleboro as the sun was setting and immediately fell in love. In 2006, he moved to Brattleboro and subsequently opened Alici’s Bistro and Martini Lounge. Musa Alici is renowned for his passion of cooking, life and love.

BIO: Tristan Toleno, Riverview Cafe, Brattleboro

Chef/Owner Tristan Toleno was raised in Marlboro, Vermont. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in Philosophy and then went to New England Culinary Institute. After graduating in 1996 he moved to New York City and spent several years honing his skills in fine-dining establishments Picholine and L'absinthe. At the Riverview Café, he uses these skills and techniques, along with careful choices of food sources and ingredients, to provide a satisfying, casual, and affordable dining experience.

Riverview Cafe will be preparing Sweet Tree Farm Steak Sandwich with Pesto Mayo, Sweet Italian Peppers, and Vermont Tomatoes

Sharon Meyers Fine Catering

Sharon started cooking professionally at the Morning Glory Cafe on Nantucket Island in 1979 and traded art classes for cooking skills at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on Deer Isle, Maine. In 1983, she and a friend started The Elegant Caper, a catering company in Carlisle, MA.

A natural chef and baker, Sharon has continued to take classes in New York, Vermont, and Italy with many of today's well known chefs and bakers, including a few trips to Napa for the California influence.
Sharon is a graduate of Connecticut College and has a Masters in Aesthetic Education from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her love for form and color are obvious in her weavings and one-of-a-kind quilts. Her work has been seen in many publications and has traveled in group shows all over the world. Today, she continues to quilt and do portrait sculpture.

This love of color, form, and texture is as obvious in her food and presentation as it is in her art work, bringing her accolades and high praise. Today, Sharon and her staff travel as far as Boston and Albany, as well as catering to the more local New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont areas. Sharon's many years of cooking, her background in the arts, and her experienced staff guarantee an exceptional event for both you and your guests.

Sharon Myers is available as a caterer or as a consultant. Feel free to contact her if you have questions.
For more information about our catering or to book an event, please call (802) 254-2480 or email srmcater@comcast.net. Sharon Myers Fine Catering is based in Southern Vermont and serves the northeast region.

Chef James Bennett. The Putney Inn has been under the ownership of the Ziter family for more than thirty years. Located seven miles north of Brattleboro, Vermont in the Village of Putney, The Putney Inn offers a charming and calming alternative to the commercialized frenzy of “the city.” Easily off Exit 4 of Vermont Interstate 91, our location makes us convenient to all of southern VermontMassachusetts. and northwestern

Guests have written that we are “stunning”. Travel & Leisure advises that, in any trip to New England, “The Putney Inn is well worth a detour.” We’ve been told that we are “much more than a pretty building with great food,” but that we are “a property with heart and soul.” Excitingly for us, though tucked in the quiet enclave of Putney, our food has received the recognition and accolades of writers’ attentions stretching from Boston to Miami, and from Washington to Chicago.

Refreshing in our good humor, attentive in our good service, dedicated to good food, and boundless in our enthusiasm to graciously accommodate whims and fancies, we are a gentle respite of sincerity, genuineness, and quality.

Jr. Iron Chef VT 2009 is an event planned by members of the Burlington Food Council as a statewide competition, fundraising, and awareness event for the Burlington School Food Project and VT FEED.  The competition gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience preparing and cooking nutritious foods.  We hope to encourage students to make healthy eating choices, and understand more about nutrition, fresh and local foods, the culinary arts, and school food systems.  In 2008 and 2009 Twin Valley High School won "Best in Show" at the competition.  Organizers, instructers and students will be on hand at this year's festival to talk about the program.

The Twin Valley Jr. Iron Chef team will be preparing Samosas with Apple Chutney and a Yogurt Dipping Sauce