Gateway Greening ‘Chefs in a Garden’ Benefit Raises $100,000
Funds generated will support Gateway Greening’s work to educate and empower individuals to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban architecture
Some of St. Louis’ most talented chefs recently gathered at the Palladium Saint Louis on Sept. 13 to serve their signature dishes for a good cause, as Gateway Greening hosted its 18th annual Chefs in a Garden fundraising event. St. Louis Composting served as the presenting sponsor for this year’s event, which featured gourmet food prepared with ingredients grown at Gateway Greening gardens and local farms. The fundraiser generated over $100,000 to benefit Gateway Greening’s programming.
Chefs and restaurants that participated in this year’s event were Lona Powers of Lona’s Lil Eats; Bradley Hoffmann of Planter’s House; John Perkins of Juniper; Adam Karl Gnau of Acero; Chris Bolyard of Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions; Seth Verseman of 1904 Steakhouse; Tyson & Anna Long of Winslow’s Home; Nicholas Hatfield of Food Outreach; Ivy Magruder of Panorama; Sandia Hoorman of Piccione and Bethany Budde of SqWires.
This year’s menu featured a full spectrum of foods, from scallops to fried pickles! Piccione Pastry provided sweets treats with a mini cannoli station, while Chef Budde of SqWires refreshed the crowd with the restaurant’s signature homemade watermelon lemonade. This year’s “Chef of the Year” award went to Chris Bolyard of Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions, who received recognition for his “braised collard greens & smoked ham hock with pork rinds” dish.
Guests also enjoyed a special selection of quality wines and local microbrews and took part in live and silent auctions to benefit Gateway Greening.
“This year’s Chefs in a Garden event was another success for the organization,” said Mara Higdon, Gateway Greening Assistant Director. “It was an evening of fine cuisine prepared by some of the best chefs in St. Louis, We would like to extend a special thank you to St. Louis Composting and our other sponsors, Centene; Commerce Bank; Anova, Husch Blackwell; The Koman Group; Missouri Foundation for Health, Osborn and Barr, and Great Southern Bank for helping to make this year’s event possible.
“St. Louis Composting is happy to partner with Gateway Greening to help accomplish their mission to educate and empower the people of St. Louis to strengthen their communities through gardening and urban agriculture. I think more organizations like Gateway Greening need to exist,” said Patrick Geraty, owner of St. Louis Composting.
