Saturday, August 30

  • Millennium Restaurant and SaveNature.org

    Saturday, August 30 | Millennium Restaurant | 580 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA | $70

    A collaboration between Executive Chef Eric Tucker of Millennium Restaurant, dedicated to supporting the essential earthly concepts of organic food production, small farms, sustainable agriculture, recycling and composting and SaveNature.org, a conservation organization dedicated to inspiring children and adults to save rainforests and coral reefs around the world; supporting sustainable and economic development among local communities and fighting global climate change. Millennium cooks with fresh produce delivered every day, and choose organic whenever possible creating a gourmet dining experience out of vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally friendly foods.

    The dinner featured the produce of Eat well Farms, Maraquita Farms, Animalitos Farms, Happy Boy Farms and Blossom Bluff Orchards. The cuisine is influenced by the flavors and styles of many cultures and all of our dishes are completely animal-free and completely free of genetically modified foods. This dinner was a fundraiser for SaveNature.org celebrating their 20th year of saving nature.

  • A16 and Roots of Change

    Saturday, August 30 | A16 | 2355 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA | $100 (included wine)

    A collaboration between A16 and Roots of Change. This four course, seated meal featured California producers, including meats, seafood and dairy. Michael Dimock spoke at both seatings.

  • Nopa and Community Alliance with Family Farmers

    Saturday, August 30 | 560 Divisadero Street, San Francisco, CA | $40 (average meal price) plus donation

    Nopa and the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) joined forces during Slow Food Nation to increase awareness of Nopa’s dedicated local food procurement practices and the spectacular work of CAFF and their Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign. Guests savored a delicious, seasonally inspired meal and donated to CAFF’s efforts to preserve sustainable, family-owned farms.

  • ACME Chophouse and The Growing Connection

    Saturday, August 30 | ACME Chophouse | 24 Willie Mays Plaza, San Francisco, CA | $125.00 (gratuity not included)

    ACME Chophouse, one of San Francisco’s premier restaurants, hosted a dinner in support of The Growing Connection (TCG). TGC is a grass roots project developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. TGC engages people around the world in solutions to hunger, malnutrition and poverty. TGC enables sustainable food production by combining innovative tools with access to information.

    The dinner menu highlighted the best of local, “just-picked,” and hand-made; including grass-fed beef, fresh-caught fish, an array of organic produce grown by local farmers, and of course… fine wine.

    All proceeds of the dinner benefited The Growing Connection.

  • Fifth Floor Restaurant and Lounge and The Trust for Public Land

    Saturday, August 30 | Fifth Floor | 12 Fourth Street, San Francisco, CA | Price Varied

    The menu at the notable Fifth Floor Restaurant and Lounge showcases the remarkable similarities between Northern California and consulting Chef Laurent Manrique’s native Gascony in Southwestern France. Elements common to both regions – forests, mountains, vineyards, and the ocean – combine harmoniously in the Gascon-inspired menu. Fifth Floor partnered with The Trust for Public Land in an evening celebrating the elements that provide us with remarkable, fresh and local ingredients. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national, nonprofit, land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. TPL’s Working Lands Initiative protects the farms, ranches, and forests that support land-based livelihoods and rural ways of life, which play a major role in providing local ingredients and fresh food. Ten percent of all sales for the evening went to The Trust for Public Land to support their conservation efforts.

  • XYZ and Save the Bay

    Saturday, August 30 | XYZ Restaurant in the W Hotel | 181 3rd Street, San Francisco, CA | $65

    XYZ Restaurant featured a three-course, Slow Food, local and sustainable ingredient-inspired meal created by Executive Chef Paul Piscopo. Proceeds benefited local charity Save The Bay.

    Chef Piscopo, an avid surfer and outdoor enthusiast, has a strong connection with the outdoors that comes through in his culinary philosophy. He believes in creating dishes using local, organic, sustainable and seasonal ingredients. Chef Piscopo’s commitment to sourcing the freshest, seasonal ingredients pairs perfectly with XYZ’s organic and biodynamic wine list. Working with the farmers and artisans in the Bay Area, Paul is able to deliver the cuisine made from fresh, seasonal ingredients, wherever, whenever possible.

    Sharing in Chef Piscopo’s love of the outdoors and preservation is Save The Bay, the oldest and largest organization working exclusively to protect, restore and celebrate San Francisco Bay. As the Bay’s leading champion since 1961, Save The Bay is committed to making the Bay cleaner and healthier for people and wildlife. Save The Bay educates nearly 10,000 students and adults on the Bay each year and engages volunteers to improve vital wetlands and subtidal habitats.

  • MarketBar & California Food and Justice Coalition

    Saturday, August 30 | MarketBar | 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA | $46.70 (gratuity not included)

    MarketBar and the California Food and Justice Coalition paired for an evening dedicated to farm fresh food and social, agricultural and environmental justice. The menu included: fresh cured Castelvetrano green olives; arugula & roasted-fig salad with balsamic vinaigrette; Allstar Organics garden tomato salad with burrata cheese; Marin Root Farm roasted beets, candied walnuts and Point Reyes blue cheese; Brentwood corn soup, rocoto pepper puree; Mary’s organic chicken paillard, eggplant caponata; grilled California sturgeon, peperonata & caper aioli; spinach and mushroom ravioli with an heirloom tomato sauce; fresh shelling beans with arugula; Yukon Gold potatoes; glazed carrots; and nectarine crisp with rose petal ice cream. Fresh produce was sourced from nearby farms, including Allstar Organics, Marin Root Farms, Star Route, Alemany Farm and Tairwa Farms.

  • Greens Restaurant and Marin Agricultural Land Trust

    Saturday, August 30 | Greens Restaurant | Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA | $195.00

    Award winning chef, Annie Somerville, created a fabulous vegetarian dinner in the new private dining room at Greens Restaurant with spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay. This event benefited Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), a coalition of ranchers and environmentalists who have preserved over 40,000 acres on 62 family farms in Marin County, California. The meal was a special opportunity to taste food and wine grown in Marin County. The menu featured Annie Somerville’s creative and innovative approach to vegetarian cooking, featuring fresh, seasonal and local ingredients. The family-style menu included: appetizers of heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella di bufala salad with Green Gulch lettuces and arugula, sweet 100 and sungold cherry tomatoes with basil vinaigrette served with pain epi and Straus butter; twice baked goat cheese and green garlic soufflé. Guests were then treated to a surprise signature entrée specially created by Annie Somerville for this event. And, for dessert: Chocolate Truffle Tart with cardamom crème anglais and candied almonds. Featured Marin County wines included Point Reyes Sparkling Blanc de Blanc, Pey-Marin 2006 Shell Mound Riesling, and Stubbs Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir.

    Each guest received complimentary recipes for the evening’s menu including sources for the main ingredients used. Chef Annie Somerville talked about how she prepared each course and answered questions about how to cook these wonderful dishes at home

  • Cavallo Point Lodge and Slow Food USA

    Saturday, August 30 | Cavallo Point Lodge | 601 Murray Circle, Fort Baker, Sausalito, CA | $75 (wine pairings, tax and tip included)

    Slow Food USA’s Slow Dinner was a celebration of the network of Terra Madre producers and the Terra Madre ‘08 gathering in Torino, Italy. 2006 Terra Madre delegate and previous Betsy Lydon Ark Award recipient Neal Peterson of the Paw Paw Foundation introduced the 2008 Betsy Lydon Ark Award recipient, Uprising Seeds/Uprising Organics. Founded and operated by Brian Campbell and Crystine Goldberg, Uprising Seeds specializes in producing and distributing organic and open-pollinated seeds, including Ark of Taste varieties, grown in and adapted to the climate of the Puget Sound region and beyond; they also manage a low-income CSA.

    Executive two-star Michelin Chef Joseph Humphrey composed an exquisite menu featuring ingredients from Marin County and other Bay Area slow food producers. During the reception, Domaine Carneros sparkling wine accompanied Swanton Berry Farm strawberries with organic parmesan and balsamic vinegar, grilled Knoll Farms figs, Liberty Farms duck prosciutto, baked Harley Farms goat cheese crostini, and County Line farm radishes & peppercress. The first course was Tamara’s heirloom tomatoes both cooked & raw, paired with Bonny Doon Vineyard’s 2007 Le Cigare Blanc ‘Beeswax Vineyard’ Monterey. The Second course was Marin Sun Farm’s heirloom Navarro Churro lamb baked in a cannelloni with organic parmesan and grilled little gem lettuces. Cain Vineyard’s 2004 Cain Five was poured with the main course. For dessert, Bonny Doon Vineyard’s 2007 Le Vol des Anges ‘Beeswax Vineyard’ Monterey accompanied a Summer stone fruit tart and McEvoy Ranch olive oil ice cream.

    Cavallo Point is an elegant and environmentally sustainable lodge in the heart of the Golden Gate National Park in Sausalito, California. Positioned in a breathtaking setting where San Francisco’s urban edge turns into untamed coastal wildlands, Cavallo Point is home to Murray Circle restaurant and an authentic Healing Arts Center & Spa. Guests have the option to discover deeper enrichment via signature adventures and programs that pair property amenities with focused agendas in adventure & well-being, creative arts, and the culinary arts.