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The Starvin Artist Cafe
at Four Quarters


" It's hard to share food
and hold a grudge. "

    Kitchen Impossible
    by Pamela Alexander




    Just like spiritual people of all times and cultures, we have found that the simple making and sharing of meals to be one of the most important things that we can do for ourselves and our community.
    Be it Sunday morning breakfast on a Full Moon weekend or stir fry for hundreds, the Kitchen is central to our process. Staff takes it very seriously.

    In the spring of 1999 Four Quarters made the commitment to build a Church Meeting Hall and Kitchen. The first major all weather building in the camp proper and for us, a very major undertaking. Every dollar for materials and all of the labor of its construction was donated or came from Church Fundraisers. And by the opening of the 1999 season its 24 by 48 foot foundation walls were in place, and by the close of the 1999 season we had served perhaps 4000 meals using donated cooking equipment covered by a tarpaulin roof. Just after closing camp for the winter we purchased an 18.5 kva three phase generator, enough power for the kitchen and the camp. By fall of 2001 we had the ground floor finished and winter ready, roofed,snug and warm.

    What we have been able to save by building slow has been put into the food itself, we think we serve some of the finest food available in any comparable camp. We keep it simple, honest and humble. Whenever possible we use organic and locally produced food; and we feel that makes a very big difference. It is not uncommon that the lettuce for the salads was picked just the day before we serve it, and Mr. Ritz butchers the hogs for our Pig Roasts when we place the order. If the menu calls for rice, we use Basmati; coffee is straight Colombian. Orren will not stand for anything less. And for the Beltaine Members Weekend and the Men's Gathering we really get fancy. Strawberry soup and a Champagne Brunch overlooking the creek. Sometimes it does get especially sweet.

    We offer meal plans at many of our church fundraisers and all most all of them feature an open feast on Saturday. The kitchen is usually open for a la carte meals as well, if we have leftovers. We serve Brunch about 10AM, Dinner around 5PM and its always "all you can eat." We have found that limiting the Kitchen to those two meals provides much more freedom in arraigning our scheduling for workshops and ceremony. We encourage people to bring snackables if they intend on using the meal plan. In keeping with our Green policy, we do not supply dining utensils, plan on bringing your own.

    We think that you will find the Starvin Artist to be a very special place. We hope it will add much that is good to your experience of Four Quarters. And for those of us on the inside, building the Kitchen, repairing the equipment, preparing and serving your food; it is also a very special experience. It is a part of our process and our commitment. You make that as possible as we do.