Benefit Dinner for Veggie U with Farmer Lee Jones of The Chef’s Garden

I am very excited to report that we at Lockwood will be teaming up with Farmer Lee Jones of The Chef’s Garden in Ohio to create what promises to be a memorable evening. The details appear in the press release below and I encourage you to make your reservations quickly as space should fill up fast at this recession minded price point .

Beyond what is stated in the release, I would like to say that to collaborate with Farmer Jones (who will be joining the events through a live video feed) is worth the price of admission in itself.
Like many chefs, I have always been a big fan of his pioneering work. Even more so, I am in great admiration of his efforts to reach out well beyond the ‘Good Earth’ in his determination to influence the lives of those inhabiting/inheriting it.

Farmer Lee Jones

Within this scope, is the not for profit Veggie U to whom all of the proceeds for this event will be going. Veggie U – located in The Culinary Vegetable Institute on the grouds of the Chef’s Garden – sends out ‘kits’ to 4th grade classes across the nation. These kits help to teach children the importance of sustainable agriculture and to spring board them into looking at food in a much more nurturing fashion than your average fast food restauarant.

Despite these challenging times, I have already been able to coordinate generous donations from several purveyors to enable us to increase the dollars that will reach the children. The menu is in the works as I type this and I assure you Jens and I will be pulling out all of the stops for this event! If you are unable to attend but still interested in donating, click here.

LIVE FROM THE FARM: LOCKWOOD RESTAURANT HOSTS

FIRST-EVER DIGITAL TASTING

Chicago‘s Chef Phillip Foss Video Conferences Directly with The Chef’s Garden’s

Farmer Lee Jones in Ohio During Unique Fundraiser to

Raise Awareness of Good Nutrition in Children

During the evening, Lockwood’s Executive Chef Phillip Foss and guests inside the restaurant will use live Internet video conferencing to connect directly with Farmer Lee Jones, who will be broadcast from inside a greenhouse at The Chef’s Garden located in Milan, Ohio. The two will offer a candid look at how sustainable agriculture is farmed; how that produce made its way onto the evening’s menu; while taking an insider’s look at the latest farming practices. To enhance interactivity with the farm, guests will have the opportunity to garnish their own dishes with produce highlighted throughout the conversation. Debra Nickoloff, Director of Veggie U, will be on hand to provide an overview of the mission and aims of Veggie U. Nickoloff will also kick off a silent auction featuring:

Two one night stays at Chicago’s classic Palmer House Hilton
One weekend stay for two in the Chef’s Suite at the Culinary Vegetable Institute with Champagne breakfast included
Two Lockwood Signature Tasting dinners for two
Four tickets for The Chef’s Garden’s 2009 Food & Wine event on July 18, 2009, benefiting the Veggie U Children’s Program
Prepackaged boxes of herbs, micros and greens from The Chef’s Garden
First and last name for a secondary character in the second of four romance novels, titled “On the Steamy Side” by author Louisa Edwards, which will be launched in September 2010. Edwards’ first novel in the series was titled “Can’t Stand the Heat.”

Date of event: April 21st, 2009 – 6-9PM
Price: $95/person all inclusive
Reservations: 312-917-3404

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 5:07 pm and is filed under All Posts and tagged with chef's garden, farmer lee jones, veggie u. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

Bella says:

March 30, 2009 at 8:03 pm

so… where do we buy tickets? This sounds great, but will there be meat? I can’t eat a meal without any meat. It’s against my beliefs…

Phillip Foss says:

March 30, 2009 at 8:36 pm

We come up with special items for meat-itarians… call 312-917-3404 for the reservation. Hope to see you there!

Kenny says:

March 31, 2009 at 5:18 am

Sounds gret – what’s “this recession minded price point” to which you refer? It’s early and my brain migt not be functioning fully, but I can’t find it anywhere in the post or on Farmer Jones’ site.

Farmer Lee Jones says:

March 31, 2009 at 8:57 am

Hello all. I look forward to talking to you direct from our greenhouse in Ohio. It’s going to be a great experience from our earth to Chef Foss’ table!

March 31, 2009 at 10:59 am

It’s in there Kenny… I do love that you check out the blog before coffee, but caffeine really does wonders!
The price is $95 which includes wine pairings.

March 31, 2009 at 12:08 pm

I can’t blame the lack of caffeine, because I’ve had 2 strong cups of coffee now, and I still can’t find that $95 figure anywhere but in your response. FWIW, I can’t find the date either. It must be the years of brain-cell-depleting activities. Anyway, thanks – it really does sound like a good price for a good cause. If I can figure out when it is, I’ll check the calendar

March 31, 2009 at 1:29 pm

Do I feel like an A-hole?! I must have accidentally deleted it!
It is on April 21st.

Regina Ventresca-Erklin says:

March 31, 2009 at 2:14 pm

I always miss the good stuff!! I’ll be in Florida that day…phooey! I was thinking of coming in for lunch next week sometime though…

March 31, 2009 at 5:44 pm

well, when I described years of brain-depleting activities, glad to see that I must have meant yours, not mine I’ve made my reservation for 3. Looking forward to it.

Sofia Solomon says:

April 3, 2009 at 10:45 am

Wouldn’t miss it!!! Great cause, and sounds like fun.

Cathy Krabec says:

July 29, 2010 at 9:17 am

When is your food and wine festival fundraiser in Milan for 2010?

July 29, 2010 at 3:15 pm

Already was… 7/17

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Aug			«-»
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

The Pickled Tongue & Foss Family Chronicles