Beyond the Clocktower: How Cornell Saved the Pumpkins & Other Veggie Stories Brunch
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Cornell Alumni Affairs, The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and The Cornell Club – New York invite you to brunch!

Join us for an autumn harvest brunch with vegetable innovator, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Associate Professor of Plant Breeding & Genetics, Michael Mazourek!

Cornell and CALS are on the cutting edge of plant breeding for flavor, nutrition, convenience, and resiliency. Professor Mazourek will share how, through creative science, Cornell saved the jack-o-lantern pumpkins from a devastating disease. Plus, learn about the difference between the pumpkin you carve and the one you eat and the development of new vegetables – the honeynut squash and the habanada, a delicious heatless habanero pepper. Enjoy a tasting of Cornell squash, pumpkins, and apples, and a full buffet brunch featuring the produce you learned about in the lecture.

Event Details
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2017
Time: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.
12:00 noon – 12:30 p.m. Reception
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lecture, tastings, Q&A
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Brunch
Location: The Cornell Club – New York
6 E 44th Street, New York, NY
Cost: $45 per person, includes reception, tastings, brunch and lecture (Cornell Club – New York members may register for a reduced rate directly with Kirsten Alman)
Space is limited! All tickets are final sale after Wednesday, October 24, 2017.

Reception Menu:
Drink:
6E Bubbly
Prosecco with Apple Spice

Hors d’oeuvres:
Sweet Potato and Vegan Pulled Pork

Honeynut Squash Bisque
Coconut and Thai Spices

Mini Grilled Cheese
Prosciutto, Dalmatian Fig and Gruyere

Brunch Menu:

Kale Salad
Fuji Apple, Craisins, Candied Pecans, and Creamy Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Beet Salad
Marcona Almonds, Orange Segments, and Goat Cheese

Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Lentils, Dates, Charred Radishes, and Honeynut Squash

Blackened Salmon
Sweet Potato Hash and Crispy Brussels Sprouts

Rosemary Scented Potato Pancake
Melted Leeks and Fried Eggs

Smoked Loin of Pork
Apple Compote, Smoked Mustard, and Country Biscuits

Plum Galette
Rosemary and Lemon

Pumpkin Spice Cake

Coffee, Decaf, Tea Service
Assorted Sodas, Orange and Grapefruit Juice

Event questions? Contact Ilana Carlin Dimbleby

Registration questions? Contact Karen Barnes 

About Michael Mazourek PhD ’08: Michael Mazourek is Associate Professor of Plant Breeding & Genetics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. He is vegetable breeder who specializes in adapting produce to allow it to evolve to climate changes, present pathogens, and increase flavor and nutrient content. Featured in Blue Hill at Stone Barns’ chef Dan Barber’s The Third Plate, Michael works hand in hand with growers, chefs and industry partners. In 2015, his honeynut squash ranked #39 on the Saveur 100. He was named in the Grist 50 as one of the  “50 People You’ll Be Talking About in 2016”, and receives repeated press about his new innovations in vegetables. Michael received his PhD in Botany from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell in 2008. Follow him on Instagram at @mazlabseeds and read more here

Links and Press:

• NPR: This Heatless Habanero Packs All Of The Flavor With None Of The Burn (February 2017)
• Boomtown Table: Cornell University’s MAZ Lab Breeds New Crops (February 2016)
• United States Department of Agriculture: Enhancing the Flavor of Food through Plant Breeding (May 1, 2015)
• Saveur Magazine: Honey I Shrunk the Squash (December 2014)
• Virtual Grange, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture: Honeynut: Sowing Seeds for Collaboration

What does “Beyond the Clocktower” refer to?
In October 1997, a giant pumpkin mysteriously appeared impaled on the lighting rod of the McGraw Bell Tower, 173 feet in the air. It remained there for 5 months until unceremoniously crashing onto a nearby scaffolding. Who put the pumpkin there and how it was done still remains a mystery today. Read the New York Times coverage from 1997 here!