Green Feast

For eight years, The Ecology Center has brought together the best organic farmers, fishermen, wine makers and renowned chefs to serve a magical farm-to-table dinner unlike anything else in the region. Funds raised at this year’s dinner will go to support The Ecology Center’s educational initiatives.

For our 9th annual Green Feast, we are honored to feature our Chefs In Residence: Drew Deckman – Deckman’s en el Mogor, Carla Malloy – master preserver, and Jennifer Sherman – Chez Panisse. From Baja to Berkeley, these culinary leaders, along with the winning 2016 Eco App-Off chef Gina Galvin of Mood for Food, embrace the leading role the food we eat plays in creating a thriving and abundant future.

To get a little more info, we sat down with event organizer and Creator & Innovator, Evan Marks, to ask a few questions...

What inspires Green Feast?
There’s nothing more powerful than bringing people around the table to connect and to solve problems, build community and share in the abundance of the agriculture around us. We’re surrounded by an amazingly rich community of hardworking stewards - farmers, ranchers, fishers, and wine makers - and putting the spotlight on these artisans is really important as they are the core fabric of the integrity of our community. Then when we bring people around the table to celebrate that… that’s when the magic happens.

How does food play a part in a sustainable future?
We eat three times a day so just like we vote with our dollars, we vote with our diet. When we eat consciously and locally from people who are doing rad shit, we’re contributing to an ecologically sustainable future. But when we buy food where we have no idea where it comes from, we’re doing a disservice to our community and become part of the problem. We love farmers in Chile, we love farmers in Spain, we love farmers everywhere… but in the past, these farmers would farm in and for their community — farming shouldn’t be an export opportunity. So as southern Californians, let’s support the people who are stewarding the landscape around us and support the southern California harvest.

What can people expect if they attend Green Feast?
Green Feast is the ultimate celebration of our local food and ecological community. They can expect 200 amazing individuals breaking bread together, celebrating the harvest; it’s an incredibly artistic and wholeheartedly, beautiful experience.

Funds from Green Feast go towards the programming we do at The Ecology Center throughout the year. Funds go towards our facility in San Juan Capistrano, which inspires people to think differently about the landscapes around us, as well as the programming for children, teachers, farmers and more. All the resources add to the pool that allows us to keep doing good stuff for Planet Earth.

Purchase tickets to Green Feast

Photos:
Scott Sporleder | @spoart
Foxes + Wolves | @_foxesandwolves