This year’s shlichim at Camp J, Noa Berko (left) and Stav Pliscov, are teaching music and culture to the latest class of campers, passing on a taste of the Jewish state. (Community photo by William Beasley)
Food – where it comes from and how it’s prepared – will be the focus of The J’s first Farm-to-Table Dinner on Wednesday, July 25, at the Klein Pavilion.
Tasting stations manned by local purveyors such as Mayan Café, Flavaville and Monnik, will give guests the chance to speak to chefs as they prepare their dishes, learning where the ingredients come from.
A bar with farm-to-table themed cocktails, music from the Juggernaut Jug Band and a silent auction will round out the evening .
“We want people to think of this not as a sit-down dinner so much as a summer party,” said planning committee member Robin Miller. “The food is going to be fantastic, but it’s about the whole atmosphere, about coming with your friends for a great evening experience.”
The dinner is a fundraiser for The J’s Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education (JOFEE) Department. JOFEE oversees The J’s educational garden, which provides produce for the JFCS food pantry, and its senior adult lunch and preschool.
JOFEE also supports the Gendler Grapevine Fresh Stop Market, a sliding-scale local produce market that makes fresh vegetables accessible for everybody regardless of income or resources.
Sustainability initiatives – composting, recycling, and carbon footprint reduction at The J and educational opportunities also are among its projects.
“JOFEE is one of our newest programs,” said Sara Klein Wagner, president and CEO of the Jewish Community of Louisville. “It’s only been at The J for about two years, but in that time, we’ve offered a wide array of events and garnered a lot of community interest.”
Each participating restaurant or food vendor at the dinner is sourcing at least some ingredients from local farms, including The J’s own garden.
“The Farm-to-Table Dinner will give people the opportunity to connect and chat with chefs from local restaurants, whether they’ve eaten there before, or they’ve been wanting to go for months,” said Amy Green, a member of the planning committee whose company, Naked Hummus, will provide food for the dinner.
“It’s being planned in a way that not only supports local businesses and the food economy,” she added, “but focuses on the people who grow and provide your entire dining experience.”
Want to go?
Tickets for the Farm-to-Table Dinner, which runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m., are $75 each. Visit jewishlouisville.org/farm-table for more information.