On Saturday, Sept. 5, at 4 pm, letterpress artist Emma Young and chef Chris Fischer will celebrate their new cookbook, “The Beetlebung Farm Cookbook: A Year of Cooking on Martha’s Vineyard,” which features Emma’s letterpress menus alongside Chris’ recipes and writing (along with that of co-author Catherine Young). On Saturday, Emma will show her artwork and Chris will present a cooking demonstration at the West Tisbury library.
According to a press release, West Tisbury poet laureate Emma Young is a farmer and letterpress artist who works in a barn on a 19th century platen press using vintage type and hand-mixed oil inks. You can view Emma’s many beautiful letterpress books, broadsides, and other ephemera at enyprintedwork.com.
Chef Chris Fischer runs Beetlebung Farm, a family-operated farm located in Chilmark owned by his grandmother Regina Fischer, age 100. Regina and her husband Ozzie bought Beetlebung in 1961, and their four children, Doug, Marie, Susie, and Albert, all helped tend the family cows and raise the vegetables and flowers that their father sold at his farm stand on Middle Road. Marie shared her father’s passion for growing. As Ozzie got older, Marie took over farm management, selling organic produce and freshly picked blooms alongside her father until his death in 2011.
Today, Chris strives to uphold the standards set by his aunt and grandfather. He also makes time to cook what he grows, and to write about food and family. Marie’s son, Josh Scott, and his wife Lindsey work in collaboration with Chris. Along with their children, they raise sheep, cows, and pigs, continuing the family’s farming tradition for another generation.
For more information about Beetlebung Farm, visit their website, beetlebungfarm.com.