Sunday Dinner at the Garden

Posted in Mario Batali's Edible Garden on July 21 2014, by Lansing Moore

On the heels of last month’s hugely successful Whole Foods 5% Day, we are very excited for the start of the next special event series to support the Garden’s Edible Academy initiative. This Sunday, MasterCard^® Priceless^® New York presents the first of four Family Dinners with Mario Batali’s Chefs!

Celebrated chef and NYBG Board Member Mario Batali is Honorary Chair of the Edible Academy Committee, and for four nights only the Garden will host chefs from the Batali & Bastanich Hospitality Group‘s acclaimed restaurants to prepare a three-course, family-style menu to be served al fresco in the most secluded green oasis in New York City. Your family can join in the fun too, so read on for more details about the special menu and fun activities in store!

Each evening features a different culinary team visiting from some of New York’s hottest eateries–including Otto, Del Posto, and Eataly—to prepare the freshest ingredients from Mario Batali’s Kitchen Gardens, where kids learn about Italian heirloom vegetables and other nutritious edible plants. Enjoy hands-on gardening and craft activities alongside live cooking demonstrations by these top chefs in the outdoor Whole Foods Market Family Garden Kitchen.

Each evening comes with its own unique menu and wine pairings. Explore the appetizing lineup and choose which date to bring your family for an unforgettable evening together. July 27 will include such summer treats as green beans with prosciutto, mozzarella, and cherry tomatoes; eggplant parmigiano with bianca aglio olio; and a mint and lemon semolina cake for dessert. Delicious!

This garden-to-table meal is served in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, the heart of the future site of the Edible Academy—a new, green building that will serve as the hub for edible education at NYBG. On June 25, Whole Foods shoppers and friends of the Garden raised over $131,000 to help realize this new educational platform that prepares children, their families, and their teachers for a lifelong interest in gardening and healthful living. But important funds still need to be raised to make this project happen! You can help us reach this goal, either by direct donation to the Edible Academy initiative, or by purchasing tickets to one of only four special Family Dinners with Mario Batali’s Chefs.