"Farmer in the House"

Hello Fine Dining Friends,

Please join 8 of my favorite chefs and me, as we celebrate spring in Arizona. I started this dining series to spotlight an exclusive group of the valley's most creative and innovative chefs, most of whom have been sourcing locally grown produce since they began their culinary careers. These special evenings allow our talented chef clients to venture outside of their daily menus, and create unique dishes featuring fruits and vegetables from my sustainable Laveen farm. Each restaurant partners with a vineyard, or multiple vineyards, for course by course paired wines, including Cakebread Cellars, DRNK Winery, Brewer-Clifton Winery and Arizona's Carlson Creek Vineyards, to name but a few.

I hold the series in spring, because some of our more exotic fruits and vegetables come into season. One of our farm's specialties, the "calabacitas con flor", which translates into baby squash with blossoms, is a particular favorite of both the diners and the chefs. We grow a dozen varieties of multicolored summer squash, which we harvest very small, with the living, open blossom still attached. The chefs stuff the edible squash blossoms with a variety of savory ingredients, including shellfish or cheeses.

A few years ago, the chefs and I agreed to align with the Association of Arizona Food Banks, so that our elegant, indulgent celebrations could assist in lessening childhood hunger throughout our state. We're very pleased that the AAFB's CEO, Angie Rodgers will be joining us for a few of our dinners this spring. Please note the letter below from Terri Shoemaker, the Association's Director of Development.

These are the chefs and restaurant/resorts that I invited to participate in our 11th Annual "Farmer in the House" dining series. Menus, vineyard partners and prices will be posted to our website and the individual restaurant's websites, as they become available. Please make your reservations at each restaurant, as most evenings will sell out. I look forward to seeing you on multiple occasions.

Very best wishes for a beautiful Arizona spring,

Pat Duncan

11th Annual "Farmer in the House" Dining Series
Spring 2017 Dining Schedule:

Vincent on Camelback, Phoenix: Friday, March 24th with chef/owners Vincent and Leevon Guerithault and DRNK Winery (Kunde Family Vineyards).
         (602) 224-0225

Sassi Ristorante, Pinnacle Peak: Wednesday, March 29th with Chef Christopher Nicosia and multiple vineyards TBA.
         (480) 502-9095

Arcadia Farms Café, Old Town Scottsdale: Thursday, April 6th with chef/owner Carolyn Ellis and Brewer-Clifton Winery, Lompoc/Mt. Carmel, CA
         (480) 941-5665

Hearth '61 at Mountain Shadows Resort, Paradise Valley: Friday, April 21st with chef Chuck Wiley and Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma, CA.
         (480) 624-5400

Lon's at Hermosa Inn, Paradise Valley: Thursday, April 27th with Executive Chef Jeremy Pacheco and Carlson Creek Vineyard, AZ.
         (602) 955-7878

Blue Hound Kitchen at Hotel Palomar, Downtown Phoenix: Tuesday, May 2nd with Executive Chef Sean Currid and multiple vineyards or AZ beers TBA.
         (602) 258-0231

elements at Sanctuary on Camelback, Paradise Valley: Thursday, May 18th with Executive Chef Beau MacMillan and Chappellet Winery, Pritchard Hill, Napa Valley, CA.
         (480) 607-2325

Cafe ZuZu @ Hotel Valley Ho, Scottsdale: Monday, May 22nd with Executive Chef Russell Lacasce and Cakebread Cellars, CA.
         (480) 421-7997

A Letter from AAFB

Thank you for supporting the Farmer in the House series hosted by Pat Duncan at Duncan’s Trading Company.

Support like this is so crucial to the AAFB mission: “Because healthy people and communities prosper and flourish, we promote public awareness, build coalitions and partnerships, engage in advocacy to influence public policy, and support food banks to achieve a hunger-free Arizona.”

More than that, this support is essential to the thousands of Arizonans who struggle with hunger in our state – including one out of every four children.

Our work distributing food to our partner food banks, getting more children access to meals at school and in the summer, helping people who call our hunger hotline and ensuring policies help people in poverty is so critical, and couldn’t happen without the help of people just like you.

Together, we can achieve our vision of a hunger-free AZ.

Thanks once again to Pat and all of the wonderful restaurants and chefs that are a part of Farmer in the House this year.

Terri Shoemaker
Director of Development & Marketing
Association of Arizona Food Banks
2100 N. Central Avenue, Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ, 85004-1400
602-528-3434

Below, you'll find this year's menu from Café ZuZu @ Hotel Valley Ho on Monday, May 22nd.