Author and Chef Sara Bir to Speak at Rodman Library

The 2019 Fogle Author Series presents author and chef, Sara Bir, who will speak at Rodman Public Library on Saturday, July 27, at 2 p.m., in the Main Auditorium. Bir will give a behind-the-scenes look at putting together “Tasting Ohio,” an all-Ohio cookbook with recipes from chefs and food producers from across the state. Uncover Ohio's culinary secrets in 100 recipes from the Buckeye State's best chefs from summer succotash and cracker-crusted walleye to butternut squash bisque and hazelnut brownies. Clear, easy-to-follow recipes are complemented by color photographs of every dish. She'll also discuss cooking insights, the history of a few iconic Ohio foods and what it's like to photograph an entire cookbook in a makeshift laundry room studio. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Bir resides in Marietta, Ohio. She has worked as a food editor, recipe tester, restaurant critic, librarian and an arts and entertainment reporter. Bir enjoys walking in the woods and looking for fruit - a passion that inspired her pawpaw recipe zine, “The Pocket Pawpaw Cookbook.” Her writing has been featured in Saveur, Edible Ohio Valley, Best Food Writing 2014, two Full Grown People anthologies, and on the websites Serious Eats, Lucky Peach and Paste Magazine. This yearly Author Series is brought to the Alliance community by the generosity of Mr. Esmond E. Fogle. Mr. Fogle was a graduate of Wadsworth High School and Mount Union College. He was a past president of Robertson Heating Supply in Alliance and a U.S. Navy veteran. For sixteen years, Mr. Fogle served on the Board of Trustees at Rodman Public Library. He owned an extensive personal library which reflected his expansive reading tastes. Upon his passing at the age of 86 on August 12, 2013, money was designated from his estate to the Greater Alliance Foundation to support worthwhile projects in the community. In 2014, the Greater Alliance Foundation Trustees approved a proposal by Rodman Library to bring authors to Alliance to augment our outreach to the community, and to allow readers to connect with authors in an intimate setting and more personal way. Different genres of writing reflecting the varied reading tastes of Alliance area readers will be represented by the visiting authors. We are grateful to the Foundation and the Fogle family for their support of this series. Future visiting authors of the Fogle Author Series to Rodman Library are Kristen Lepionka, Saturday, Aug. 24, at 2 p.m.; Matthew Pearl, Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m., and Mindy McGinnis, Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. Books will be available for purchase at the time of the authors’ visits which the authors will then sign after the program. These events are free and open to the public. No registration is needed. For more information, call the Main Library at 330-821-2665, ext. 107.