Garden Scene

Spotlight: chef's demo at Food & Wine Celebration

If you have a vested interest in perpetuating meaningful health education programs for our region's youth, a passion for food and wine, or simply enjoy a bit of summertime outdoor revelry, the 2010 Food & Wine Celebration, a benefit for the Veggie U children's program, is the place to be on July 17. 

Among the region's most anticipated events, the soiree starts at 5 pm on the grounds of the Culinary Vegetable Institute, a pastoral oasis dotted with a magnificent herb garden, carefully manicured grounds, woodlands and a mod log cabin. The real action takes place under a culinary big top, giant tents beneath which more than 40 of the nation's most talented chefs will prepare and serve an assortment of dishes that incorporate produce from the Chef's Garden. 

James Beard Award winner chef Martha Hall Foose will lead a cooking demonstration focused on southern cuisine, and former Top Chef contestants Lee Anne Wong and Dave Martin will take the stage for an exciting cooking challenge. An eclectic selection of wines will be available, and oenophiles may gather inside the Culinary Vegetable Institute for wine demos with master sommelier Serafin Alvarado. The team from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams will be on hand, serving their deliciously cool creations.

"One of the most amazing things is the willingness of the culinary community to support children’s programs like Veggie U," says farmer Lee Jones. "With so many events each year, chefs seem to really own this event."

Jonathon Sawyer, chef/owner of the Greenhouse Tavern, will lead a demo showcasing the restaurant's heirloom ratatouille à la niçoise. Sawyer is particularly au fait with the CVI, as he and his kitchen staff met there to create the dish he brought to the 2010 Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, where he was part of a dinner involving the chefs recognized by Food & Wine as the country's top toques.

"For Aspen Food & Wine, I was able to take all the chefs who weren't going to Aspen and take them to [Culinary Vegetable Institute], we picked all the tomatoes for the recipe we brought to Aspen, peeled them all, stewed them all, and made 1,500 raviolinis, wrapped it all and shipped it all to Aspen," says Sawyer. His fromage blanc raviolini with stewed tomatoes was the crowd favorite at the event. 

At Greenhouse Tavern, nearly all the salad greens and 50 percent of the herbs come from Chef's Garden. "Our vegan entrée is basically all vegetables [farmer Lee Jones] sends to us – we call it 'farmer Lee Jones vegetables en papillote' – and it's whatever Jones has that he likes, he sends us."

As a father of two, Sawyer also identifies with the mission of Veggie U. "Veggie U is about educating fourth graders, so having two kids, it's huge for me to be able to participate in something like this."

Among the other regional chefs joining the cadre of kitchen talent this year, is Three Birds executive chef Rachel Spieth, who has been participating in the event for five years.  At Three Birds in Lakewood, diners will find Chef's Garden microgreens, myriad lettuces, mixed baby squash, zucchini and beets, and baby carrots from the Chef's Garden in Spieth's dishes.  "Right now, I'm using their arugula, their tat soi, microgreens and mixed baby squash and zucchini," says Spieth. She'll be preparing a cold cucumber-watermelon salad with sherry vinaigrette for this year's event. She is also enthusiastic to support Veggie U, noting the need for educating the youth. "I definitely think it's something important and something that I was not raised with at all," she says. "When I was a little kid, me and my cousins didn't even know what a fresh green bean looked like –  everything came out of a bag from the freezer or a can." 

The show of support for Veggie U from the chefs and culinary community is not lost on Jones. "It’s very humbling to see the support of the culinary committee and food enthusiasts each and every year," he says. "The culinary industry as a whole really steps up and offers us tremendous support. It’s truly amazing. Frankly, this Saturday, there will be more culinary talent here than any location in the country."

To purchase tickets to this year's Food & Wine Celebration, click here. To view a gallery highlighting previous events, in addition to the Veggie U program in action, click here.