Two weeks ago on a balmy evening on August 15th, six chefs and their teams brought creativity and talent to prepare small plates using recovered produce and surplus protein at our Ultimate Food Rescue Challenge. The sold-out, 2nd annual, charity dinner welcomed an enthusiastic, philanthropic crowd at the popular Capo Restaurant in South Boston. The objective of the dinner was to recognize that people can take simple measures to reduce food insecurity in the US by re-purposing healthy food that would otherwise be tossed away. While U.S. agriculture produces enough food to feed everyone, a substantial proportion of tasty fruits, vegetables and meats are discarded because of imperfections or the American consumer’s tendency to purchase more food than necessary.
The feast began with our VIP Chef Kate Holowchik from Townshend with help from the Capo Staff serving Verde Farm’s grass-fed beef with salad from Russo’s seconds and surplus from Boston Area Gleaners to produce an incredibly tasty dish sharpened even further with a glass of Cremant de Bourgogne donated by Ideal Wine and Spirits of Medford.
Everyone went back for seconds of Industry’s Executive Chef Stephen Coe’s rib-eye two-ways with recovered blueberries and nectarine.
The Daily Table’s jerk chicken was sharp! The team put a punch on the poultry from Chestnut Farm, stuffed dumplings with seconds and sautéed an abundance of vegetables. They win the award for last chef standing and use of the largest quantity of rescue produce!
Moona’s Mark McMann’s dogfish slider composed of surplus fish from Red’s Best and home-made slaw stuffed in an Iggy’s bun.
Mike Fucci‘s chimichurri melted on a toasted bun topped with seasonings made you go back for more.
Kate Holowchik’s knocked it out of the park with her dessert, home-made ice cream in a pastry shell topped with rescued berries. Yum!
We had an incredible time and hope to do this again next year!
See more photos from our talented photographers on our Facebook pages: behind-the-scenes prep photos by Craig Roth and photos of the event by Marissa Fiorucci.