Chefs For Farmers Food & Wine Festival Returns November 1-3

Chefs For Farmers, the premiere food and wine festival of Dallas, returns November 1-3 with an extensive chef, artisan and farmer lineup and many memorable experiences. In one mouth-watering, calorie-filled culinary festival, Chefs For Farmers celebrates rockstar chefs engaging with local farms for ongoing business. The festival highlights Dallas as an established food city that needs to be celebrated. The weekend attracts foodies of all ages (21+) with its “come as you are”, no-fuss, party with live music, DJs and plenty of engaging activities. The festival is a collection of the greatest and most talented in the Dallas culinary scene. Chefs For Farmers VIP lounge recently upgraded with this year’s theme being “The Fried Chicken & Champagne Campaign” presented by Thermador & Capital Distributing, hosted by Top Chef John Tesar and featuring additional Top Chef Bravo chefs. 

Chefs For Farmers Hosts Mix Off Competition

Chefs For Farmers hosted Mix Off tonight at DEC on Dragon (1414 Dragon Street) to create awareness and build buzz for the upcoming Chefs For Farmers Culinary Village at Lee Park on October 25.  The Mix Off featured a bartender and a sous chef competition with the winner of each earning a spot at the October 25 event. The bartender competition pitted eight of Dallas’s craftiest bartenders against each other to create the best summer punch with spirits from the Beam Suntory portfolio. The lucky eight included: Alex Fletcher of Henry’s Majestic, Colin Phillips of FT33, Julie Naida of Remedy, Kiyoko Kinoshita of Midnight Rambler, Lauren Festa of the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Phillip Smith of The Standard Pour, Spencer Shelton of Bolsa and Trevor Landry of Dish. They stirred, shook and poured their hearts out for attendees’ votes and for bragging rights of creating the official signature cocktail of Chefs for Farmers 2015. The Celebrity Cruises Challenge/sous chef competition, featured four of Dallas’s most talked about sous chefs each preparing a traditional street food but taking a farm-to-table approach. Participating sous chefs included: Brian Bell of Blind Butcher, Brooks Cameron of FT33, Dina Butterfield of Uchi Dallas, and Joel Orsini of CBD Provisions.

The Big Oyster Bash was a Mother Shucker

Chefs for Farmers hosted the first annual Big Oyster Bash this past Sunday afternoon inside the newly renovated Shed One at Dallas Farmers Market. The event featured dishes from some of Dallas top chefs: Matt McCallister, Jon Alexis, John Tesar, Jon Stevens, Kyle McClelland, Stephen Rogers, Houston's Randy Rucker and others using both raw and cooked oysters from Texas and both coasts shucked on site.

Cynthia Smoot with Chef John Tesar

Attendees enjoyed cocktails, wine, an oyster slurp-off, a tarot card reader, and shed-shaking tunes from DJ Souljah. Chef John Tesar won the People's Choice Award for his truffle infused oyster stew and Chef Jon Stevens for his croissant bread pudding with caramel mousse.

Unfortunately if you didn't get there early, you didn't get to eat. While the event ran from 2pm to 6pm, I arrived at 3:30pm and all but three vendors were out of food. The good news is that two of the three dishes I did get to eat were the award winners. While I can't say much about the dishes created, I can tell you that there was plenty of booze, tunes and good energy.

Spotted slurping, noshing and toe-tapping in the crowd were foodies like Bev Garvin, Steven Doyle, Jennifer Miller, LeeAnne Locken, Catherine Downes, Angus Wynne and Lucien LaBarba.

Scenes from the day are below:

The Best Events in Dallas for October 2014

September was a haze with the back-to-school transition. I finally feel like I can take a breath and rejoice in the fact that it's Fall! From haunted houses to movie premiers, fashion shows to opera, BBQ festivals to golf this month has something for everyone. Get outside and enjoy this amazing weather!

XO, Cynthia

Wednesday, October 1

Alley’s House will host its third annual luncheon on October 1st, 2014, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. featuring keynote speaker Barbara Pierce Bush and Honorary Chair, Gloria Campos at House of Blues Dallas. Anna de Haro of Clear Channel Radio will return as event emcee. Barbara Bush has spent her career focusing on nutrition and global health issues. She has traveled extensively with the UN World Food Program, is a member of UNICEF’s Next Generation Steering Committee and was named one of Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year in 2011 and Newsweek’s Women of Impact in 2013. Alley’s House luncheon is a forum for conversation to better understand the range of barriers facing teen mothers including access to healthcare, adequate nutrition for themselves and their children, education, and jobs that pay a living wage. Tickets start at $150. http://alleyshouse.org/ah/ahluncheon/

Thursday, October 2 

The Mosaic Champion of Human Rights Fall Gala is an annual event to raise awareness of human rights abuses in our communities and individuals working to address them. Dallas fashion designer, Mosaic supporter, and anti-trafficking activist Abi Ferrin will receive the Champion of Human Rights Award which recognizes the extraordinary dedication of individuals who strive to ensure the protection of the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms to which all human beings are entitled. Abi’s Freedom Project helps create alternate forms of employment and hope for oppressed and trafficked women worldwide. Joining them for this fun evening will also be emcee Amy Vanderoef, Host of Good Morning Texas. Guests will enjoy beer, wine & spirits, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, 50/50 Raffle, and live music by the Hunter Sullivan Band.  This gala will be held at Fashion Industry Gallery, 1807 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75201. Tickets start at $200. www.mosaicservices.org/events

Friday, October 3

Project Runway alum, Mila Hermanovski will be coming to Piermarini Boutique on October 3rd from 3pm-6pm. She will be showcasing her Fall collection along with some exclusive styles for the trunk show at Piermarini. Mila, she was born in Dallas and is a fellow Greenhill School alum. She was on Project Runway twice, once during Season 7 and again for Project Runway All-Stars. Piermarini Boutique is located at 6827 Snider Plaza, Dallas, TX 75205.





Saturday, October 4

Attend a social screening for the film "Advanced Style" at the Texas Theater. Advanced Style examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging. Based on Ari Seth Cohen’s famed blog of the same name, this film paints intimate and colorful portraits of independent, stylish women aged 62 to 95 who are challenging conventional ideas about beauty, aging, and Western’s culture’s increasing obsession with youth. Cocktails begin at 7pm, the film will start at 8:00pm. Tickets are $10 at the door. http://thetexastheatre.com/movies-events/advanced-style

The Best Charity Events in Dallas

2014 is right around the corner. I feel like I can't look ahead without also taking a moment to reflect back. It's like crossing the street: look left, right and then left again… As we approach the end of yet another fast and furious year, there are a handful of festivals, events and galas that resinate as standout events to me.  Before I even start this post, let me just throw out a disclaimer. When I say these are the "best" charity events in Dallas, I am not talking about the most worthy charitable endeavors. Every non-profit organization has great intentions towards an admirable cause. But let's face it, there is only so much time and money one can give. At the end of the day people are looking for an event that not only provides them with a way to give back to a cause or their community but also provides a great experience, delicious food, great people-watching and an amazing experience that still has you talking about months later.  The following events are listed in no particular order, and all are number one in my book. These functions were so well executed this year that they raise the bar for every chair person who comes behind them. Bless their hearts…

Chefs for Farmers was Tray Chic

I was a locavore in foodie nirvana yesterday, as I "grabbed a tray and walked the line" at the third annual Chefs for Farmers event.  An all-star team of Dallas’ top chefs celebrated local farms at this benefit dinner at the famed Highland Park Cafeteria. Founded in 2010 by Chef Matt McCallister, Chefs for Farmers was organized to raise awareness for the importance of using local ingredients and supporting the farms and farmers in and around Dallas-Fort Worth and North Texas.

(Left) Kellyn Curtis from The Feast show you how hard the life of a food writer is.
(Right) I caught up with Daily Candy's, Brittany Cobb and her handsome husband, Michael, in line.

DJs Jennifer Miller and Paul Paredes kept the vibe thumpin' mixing tracks at this one-of-a-kind event with a special appearance by guest DJ/Chef Matt McCallister.

Each Chef took a classic approach to dining with farm-fresh ingredients, preparing two gourmet dishes that were served cafeteria-style.  Guests were served from the chefs as they grabbed a tray and walked the queue, selecting from a multitude of comfort classics.

Gary Cogill was one of the local celebrity judges who used his discerning palate to determine which chef would win $1,000 provided by Artizone. Congrats to Pecan Lodge for winning Diners Choice!

Me with the event mascots and a shot of my favorite dish, Modern Strawberry 

Shortcake by Rick Griggs of Collage Bakery and Bar.

Participating chefs this year included Janice Provost and Chad Houser (Parigi), John Tesar, Matt McCallister, Dan Landsberg (Dragonfly at Hotel ZaZa), Tim Byres (Smoke), Randall Copeland and Nathan Tate (Ava), Scott Romano (Charlie Palmer) Brian Luscher (The Grape), J. Chastain (The Second Floor), Jack Perkins, Justin Fourton and Diane Fourton (Pecan Lodge), Rick Griggs (former pastry chef of Abacus)

A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit The Family Place, the largest family violence service provider in the Dallas area serving thousands of victims of family violence each year with award-winning programs that keep women and children safe.

To stay connected for updates on the next Chefs for Farmers event, become Fan on Facebook.