Oh what a day — two days actually — when the Chefs for Farmers Food & Wine Festival took over Houston’s Autry Park with a throng that totaled a record 4,500 food lovers with close to 60 chefs cooking up a storm for the benefit — in part — of the Houston Food Bank and Urban Harvest. Add wine and beer vendors and craft merchants to the mix for a bountiful afternoon.
The event has come a very long way from its beginnings in 2010 as a small dinner party where Dallas resident Iris Midler and her then husband — James Beard-nominated Chef Matt McCallister — entertained several dozen for a chef-led dinner featuring local produce. Today, the Chef For Farmers festival, which runs a full weekend in both Houston and Dallas, is a juggernaut of culinary exploration.
“I did not expect that at all. I was very surprised that we are here, five years later in Houston and 15 years later in Dallas. I never expected it the first time,” Midler shared just as this Houston food fest was getting underway.
“I just visited Succulent which is working with Hope Farms and that was the whole idea,” Midler says. “That’s been the idea and that’s what we will continue to push — restaurants working with local farms and other community partners.
“It’s very important that we support farms.”
Generous servings of Field & Tides Southern fried chicken from Chef Travis Lenig and Cafe Piquet’s roasted suckling pig had my mouth watering and caviar servings in the VIP area, including 55 Seventy‘s perch kept me smiling despite the high afternoon temps. There were plenty of watering holes in the mix too, including barrels of iced down water bottles and plenty of iced Stella Artois beer, a personal fave, to ward off any meltdowns.
Each day, Chefs for Famers attendees were able to select their favorite dish. Stella Artois presented the Best Bite honors which on day one went to TASTE Kitchen & Bar’s “Big Chef Bowie” for his marinated jerk lamb chops and on day two to Chef Troy Guard of Guard & Grace for his oak grilled Creekstone Farms prime New York strip served with kabocha squash puree, crispy potato and bone marrow salsa macha.
The first day’s second place bite went to Leo’s River Oaks’ shrimp ceviche in puri while day two’s was earned by Azumi’s crunchy tuna handroll.
Among the many restaurants joining the party were Hidden Omakase, Jūn, Chardon, Latuli, Eunice, Brasserie 19 and Loro. And oh my, Loro chef Chris Beach’s smoked brisket tostada turned out to be memorable.
Dallas’ own Chefs for Farmers is set to run October 29 through November 2 at Old City Park.