close to the food source as you can get,
making what I want, from scratch.”
DINNER IN PARADISE, FLORIDA
Gabriele Marewski grows organic micro and
baby greens, herbs, edible flowers, heirloom
tomatoes and tropical fruits on five acres
at Paradise Farms, Homestead, Fla. She
partnered with Michael Schwartz chef/owner
of Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink, Miami,
to develop the Dinner in Paradise series at
the farm. The relationship was a natural fit.
“Farm to table was part of my approach long
before it was fashionable,” Schwartz insists.
Max Olszack
practice of sourcing ingredients seasonally
from their own community.
At Paradise Farms, a volunteer harvests
nasturtium flowers to be used at a Dinner
in Paradise event.
“It’s not easy, and you won’t get rich doing
this,” says Schwartz, referring to pulling
off an on-the-farm dinner program. “The
motivation has to come from a passion
for the farm-to-table philosophy and the
LEARN FROM THE
EXPERTS
Spice of Life Catering
www.spiceoflifecaters.com
Outstanding in the Field
www.outstandinginthefield.com
Tour de Farm
www.tourdefarmmn.com
Dinners at the Farm
www.dinnersatthefarm.com
Paradise Farm
www.paradisefarms.net
conviction that it’s important to support
local food producers. But if that’s how you
feel, then my advice is, do it.”
Laura Taxel is a Cleveland-based journalist
and author who writes about food, chefs
and the restaurant business for consumer
and trade publications.
If chefs lead by example, he continues,
diners will follow, becoming interested
in where food comes from and how it is
raised. “Five years ago, when we started,
I was at every dinner. Now I do one a year.
It’s still a way to let people know who I am
and what my restaurant is all about.”
Each gathering features six meat-free
courses made by three high-profile area
chefs using primarily local ingredients. “It’s
like eating in three different restaurants in
one night,” Marewski says. “People love it.”
The series provides opportunities for
her to nurture relationships with the
restaurants that buy her products and to
encourage other chefs to embrace the
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