Chefs for Farmers Turns Autry Park Into a Houston Food Paradise — Top Chefs and Thousands of Foodies Come Together

Even an early fall heat blast could not discourage fans of the third annual Chefs for Farmers weekend that saw more than 3,000 enthusiasts amble across Autry Park for food and drink samplings from some of Houston’s most notable chefs, restaurants and food merchants.

More than 40 of Houston’s top chefs — the famed Aaron Bludorn, The Lymbar’s David Cordua, Drake Leonards of Eunice and many more — delivered pop-ups that had attendees salivating over this all inclusive festival.

Chefs for Farmers, which launched in Dallas in 2010, is dedicated to supporting local farmers and giving back to the community through donations to charity partners including Urban Harvest and the Houston Food Bank.

On the Saturday and Sunday afternoons of the festival, the throng sashayed across the rolling park terrain visiting food booths, vendor pop-ups, and refreshing watering holes. Who could resist the ice cold samplings from sponsor Stella Artois which were offered at the entry?

The Kettle One martinis, fine wine tastings, curated cocktails and craft beers along with loads of ice-filled buckets of water bottles kept summer-like thirsts at bay.

Add a variety of artisans to the mix, including custom hat designs from Monarca Fashion Boutique hat bar, custom fresh flower bouquets from Bloom Bar and silk scarves from Sister the Brand.

A DJ provided a hip hop sound track to the afternoons. Lawn games delivered an extra level of energy and a gorgeous selection of fresh fruits and vegetables for the taking were provided by Chef’s Produce.

“It’s absolutely amazing. So much fun,” Jasmine McClain tells PaperCity while attending Chefs for Farmers for the second time. “I love the diversity of the food, getting to try different types of cuisine, fun drinks, live music. It’s so fun. And it’s one of my favorite events for fall here in Houston.”

Each day, attendees voted for their favorite bite of the festival. Saturday’s winner was Bāshì for its chili oil wontons, featuring produce from Verdegreen Farms. The most popular Sunday sampling turned out to be Frankie B. Mandola’s Catering for its chicken parm focaccia press with ingredients from Hood Family Farms.

Participating chefs included Kirthan Shenoy & Kripa Shenoy (Auden), Cory Nguyen (Crawfish & Noodles), Cristina Benitez (Cafe Piquet), Victoria Elizondo (Cochinita & Co.) Quy Hoang, Robin Wong & Arash Kharat (Blood Bros BBQ), Evelyn Garcia & Henry Lu (Jun), Chase Voelz with an appearance (Bludorn), Luis Robledo (Mayahuel), Christine Ha (The Blind Goat), Yotam Dolev (Hamsa), Travis McShane & Ray Melendi (Ostia), Luis Machuca (Liberty Kitchen), Marcos Juarez (Hidden Omakase) and Ed Nguyen (Potente).