A Sneak Peek at Upcoming Food Files Events

Image: www.theochocolate.com

If you want to make sure to get in on some of the most promising food-related events (and some of these Food Files events fill up quickly), here's a preview of what's happening in the coming week.

The Big Roast
Coffee and chocolate, both bean-based luxury commodities, share many similarities in preparation, most notably in the roasting process. Local purveyors Theo Chocolate and Caffe Vita Coffee have teamed to offer a two-part roasting tour, beginning at the chocolate factory, traveling by bus to the coffee shop, and then returning to the chocolate factory. You'll witness (and taste) the flavor development in both roasting processes, and sample both a new coffee blend intended for chocolate lovers and chocolates incorporating coffee flavors. You'll come away with Theo's new six-piece coffee-infused chocolate sampler and a bag of coffee specifically blended to pair best with chocolate. Also, for the new year, champagne will be served. Call for reservations.
Theo Chocolate, 3400 Phinney Ave. N., (206) 632-5100, www.theochocolate.com
$50, Sat., Jan. 10, 3-6 p.m.

Volunteer Park Cafe Wine Dinner with àMaurice Cellars
Winemaker Anna Schafer of àMaurice Cellars collaborates with chef Ericka Burke for a multicourse, family-style wine dinner. The menu is still in the planning stages, but the wine pairings will feature the local, sustainable varietals (from Viognier to Melbec) that have earned this Walla Walla boutique winery rave reviews from Seattle Magazine to The Wine Advocate. Reservations required.
Volunteer Park Cafe and Marketplace, 1501 17th Ave. E, (206) 328-3155, www.alwaysfreshgoodness.com $95 plus tax and tip.
Sat., Jan. 10, 7 p.m.

Mark Bittman Talk: Food Matters
Author and New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman visits Seattle to talk about and sign his new book, Food Matters. The text focuses on the why behind eating locally, sustainably, and lower on the food chain, while the featured recipes offer indulgences that might seem to belie their goodness. Spinach and sweet potato salad with warm bacon dressing and breakfast bread pudding are just two of the dishes this longtime author, known for his How to Cook Everything books, offers to get you started on a new, greener, tasty, and non-doctrinaire diet. Think Diet for a Small Planet, 2009 style. 
Kane Hall, Room 120, UW campus, Free, Wed., Jan. 14, 7 p.m.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A NEW VENUE.

For more wine dinners, and other food-related happenings, look to the online Food Files calendar, here.