Sunday: South to an Orchard, North to a Maui Fundraiser
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Hawaiian Flavor, Global Flair at Fundraiser for Maui
I can still cover a lot of ground for an old dude, so my home to farm to home to farm-to-table fundraiser and back home didn’t faze me.
My early trip took me 50 miles south to Keller’s Farmstand in Oswego, Illinois, where I did an interview, took photos, and of course bought stuff in preparation for my upcoming Buy Fresh Buy Local Illinois article on agritourism.
Then Barb and I headed north to Prairie Grass Cafe in suburban Northbrook for the Chicago Chefs Cook dinner to raise funds for members of the culinary community victimized by the catastrophic wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
We’ll go in reverse chronological order here because the need on Maui is still heavy and immediate, and because it’s another opportunity to promote the silent auction part of the fundraiser, which runs through Sunday (September 3).
I’ve had the honor to attend all of the Chicago Chefs Cook events, which have raised money for local and distant causes, since the first in March 2022. Some, like the initial event to help World Central Kitchen feed those displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have been huge walk-around sampling events featuring dozens of chefs and restaurants. Sunday’s event was a smaller-scale, sit-down dinner that nonetheless has raised a lot of money.
The dinner was a collaboration of the chefs in the photo above. Center in the picture is Sarah Stegner, co-owner of Prairie Grass Cafe and a Chicago Chefs Cook co-founder. Then, from left, Randall Sabado, executive research and development chef at Cooper's Hawk Winery and Restaurants; Ricky Sakoda — who trained at Prairie Grass Cafe and later ran Merriman’s restaurant in Maui — who got the event ball rolling by contacting Sarah; Sebastian White, founder and chef at The Evolved Network non-profit; and Arshiya Farheen, the Paris-trained pastry chef who co-owns Chicago’s Verzênay Patisserie.
Every dish in the photos below was delicious.
Sichuan Noodles with prime beef, Berkshire pork, duck confit, whole bean sauce and sesame-chili oil (by Randall Sabado).
Coconut-Crusted Shrimp Caesar Salad with black garlic, chile, mixed greens, citrus, sesame and avocado (by Sebastian White).
Burrata with tomatoes and tomato vinaigrette, served with Verzênay bread (by Sarah Stegner).
Suckling Pig with chile pepper water (by Ricky Sakoda).
Vegan Root Vegetable Coconut Curry with Hapa rice and fresh herbs (by Ricky Sakoda).
Off the Cob Corn Elote (by Sarah Stegner).
Peach pie with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream (by Arshiya Farheen).
Yet the sweetest moment came near the end of the meal when Ricky Sakoda announced that the dinner had raised $21,000 for the Chef Hui Maui Hospitality Relief Fund, which “supports Maui restaurants, hospitality workers, and their families who have been displaced by this disaster.”
That figure is going to grow, and you can help by participating in the silent auction that continues through this week. There are 30 prizes up for bid, too numerous to list here, but they include numerous dinners or gift cards at some of Chicagoland’s finest restaurants; a private tortilla-making class with Chef Rick Bayless; a virtual culinary garden consultation with Chefs Sarah Stegner and Jared Batson; an Italian cooking lesson for 10; a private truffle-making class; and much more.
Click the button below to view the prizes and make a bid.
The day got off to a good start with an easy 50-mile drive to the Keller’s Farmstand in Oswego. I say “the” because there are two others, one in Plainfield (which I drove past on my way) and the other in Naperville, where the family had farmed since the 1850s until the city’s urbanization overtook them.
Oswego, located in the east part of Kendall County, is where the suburban sprawl southwest of Chicago gives way to farm country. It was a near perfect day with mild temperatures and a cloudless sky, in sharp contrast to the fortunately brief heat wave of last week that sent temperatures to 100 degrees.
I can’t say much here because I need to save it for my Buy Fresh Buy Local article. But I can say that the U-pick opportunities among the farm’s 16,000 apple trees (with a pumpkin patch to open by early autumn) and the biggest sunflower field I’ve ever seen are worth a visit. There are lots of fun activities for children, and a corn maze will open after the fall harvest is done.
Of course, I had to stop at the farm store…
We don’t splurge on treats much, but apple cider doughnuts are an exception. I also brought home some KinderKrisp apples, a variety recently developed in Minnesota, which are sweet, juicy and small enough for a snack; sweet potatoes; and Roma tomatoes.