by Katie Gutierrez
Chefs in a Garden
St. Louis chefs, Gateway Greening and hungry guests gathered at the Saint Louis Palladium on Sunday, for the 15th annual Chefs in a Garden fundraiser benefiting Gateway Greening. Notable local chefs such as Kyle Patterson of Lucas Park Grille and Clara Moore of Local Harvest created one-of-a-kind tapas-style plates using ingredients grown and harvested from local gardens and farms.
A highlight of the evening included a stop-motion paper craft video made by Gateway Greening staff members Will Flynn, Jessica Choi and Danie Becknell. More than 300 hours of labor and love went into the creation of this informative and uniquely entertaining video. The film was shot one photograph at a time and all the paper models used in the video were created by staff members.
In addition to the tasting of St. Louis’ best local cuisine and farm-fresh fare, the event also hosted a silent auction which, combined with ticket sales, raised over $125,000 for Gateway Greening.
For those of you who aren’t familiar, Gateway Greening is a local nonprofit organization that educates and empowers people to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban agriculture. Some of GG’s diverse programs include supporting youth-focused gardens across Saint Louis, urban beautification projects, grants and technical assistance as well as a 2.5 acre urban farm in St. Louis, City Seeds, that provides job training programs to homeless and under-served individuals (check out the City Seeds Field Day next Saturday, Sept. 22).
Apple Leek Tart by Local Harvest
Other upcoming Gateway Greening events include the free Pints ‘n’ Plants gatherings, which meet every third Wednesday of the month. A few of the past events have covered topics ranging from rain barrels and water harvesting to raising backyard chickens.
