National Bitter Melon Council

May 7, 2006

Goya Honoring Day, originating in Okinawa, Japan, is a special day to recognize Bitter Melon as a featured product on that tropical island. The NBMC mounted a celebration on May 7, 2006 (May 8 in Japan). Our event took place as a public dinner in Kendall Square Cambridge at a space created by the performance collective Spurse called The Public Table.

For this celebration, we created a 9-course feast, with unique recipes created by NBMC council members and guest chefs Richard Sutton, Abe Taghdis, and Jeremy Chu. The quality linking all courses (from the appetizer to the dessert) was that every single one be considered ‘stuffed Bitter Melon’.

Why stuffed?
We were originally inspired by a traditional Taiwanese dish, Bitter Melon stuffed with pork. This common pairing is often found in restaurants and on home kitchen tables, and we thought it would be a great idea to try other fillings and interpretations to the word ‘stuffed’!

Goya Day, preceded by the NBMC Annual Meeting, involved several other special events, namely the world premier of the NBMC theme song ‘Bitter Melon’. Guest conductor Joe Doulette joined us to lead the group of participations in a round of ‘Bitter Melon’, conducting with flare using a fresh Bitter Melon as his wand. It was a particular surprise when we found out that one of our special guests that evening, Tom Andres (founder of the Cucurbit Network), could play the recorder. The theme song was accompanied by Tom’s playing and a rousing percussion finale by Dave Raymond of the Boston-based band Rubikon.

The NBMC Mascot also made its first appearance on Goya Day, waving hello to surprised folk on the street outside and introducing them to what a walking, smiling, Bitter Melon looks like. Mascot, led by NBMC Advisory Board member and mom extraordinaire, took the Red Line T to the May Day festival to bring the celebration of Goya Day to those in Harvard Square.

Yet another element of Goya Day included Bitter Melon Roulette, a game of chance where participants pick from a platter of vegetable dumplings. Only one or two of the group of dumplings is filled with Bitter Melon. The participant who picked the Bitter Melon dumpling had to use 3-food long utensils, either eating with them or using them to feed others. Participants ended up sharing the utensils throughout the night, and just about everyone had a chance to give it a try.

There were some honored guests at the Goya Day celebration. Tom Andres, Founder of the Cucurbit Network, drove all the way in from NYC for the event. Jennifer Hashley of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Initiative came. Andi’s parents flew out from their home in Minnesota. And many others were there from Boston’s Asian Community Development Corporation, the Berwick Research Institute, CitySprouts, iKatun, Spurse, and beyond.

The evening ended with everyone raising a fresh Bitter Melon in the air and giving a toast: “Better Living through Bitter Melon!”

Goya Honoring Day was hosted by the Cambridge Arts Council and Spurse at the site of the ‘The Public Table’ in Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA.