Slow Food partners with Baton Rouge Gallery for farm-to-fork food and art

Dinner in the Field, an annual farm-to-table charity event hosted by Slow Food Baton Rouge, won’t take place in an open field this year.

In previous years, the dinner has taken place at old plantations and outdoor venues, usually 30-40 minutes from Baton Rouge, Slow Food board member Robert Munson says. This year, the non-profit is hosting the May 1 event in conjunction with Baton Rouge Gallery’s “Before the Fork” exhibit, on view May 1-26.

“Each year we try to do something new or different or exciting, and this year our partnership with the gallery is that thing,” Munson says. “It was a no-brainer to have it there with the exhibit. It’s beneficial to us and the gallery, and the guests get a little something extra with the art.”

The exhibit is a collection of works by artists Frankie Gould, Diane Hanson, Ross Jahnke and David Scott Smith examining everything from farm life to GMOs.

Dinner in the Field will kick off with a Cocktail 90—an extra half-hour spin on the classic cocktail hour—and continue with a six-course meal and wine pairings featuring cuisine from six chefs who are responsible for locally sourcing their ingredients.

The dinner tables will be set up on the lawn behind the gallery, and Munson says guests are free to roam in and out of the gallery throughout cocktails and dinner to view the exhibit.

The event will feature local chefs Aimee Tortorich with Table Kitchen & Bar, Ryan André with City Pork, Aaron Brown with Lasseigne’s American Grill, Tanner Purdum with Magpie Cafe, Chris Wadsworth with Goûter and Nathan Gresham with Beausoleil. Jessica Torres of Beausoleil will provide cocktails.

“Frankly, it’s the best of the best,” Munson says, adding that the organization always tries to partner with chefs who have a passion for slow food.

All profits from Dinner in the Field benefit Baton Rouge’s only comprehensive farm-to-school pilot program, Greauxing Healthy Baton Rouge.

Cocktail 90 tickets and dinner tickets can be purchased here. Dinner tickets are discounted until Friday, April 15. The Cocktail 90 begins at 4 p.m. May 1 with small plates and live music, and dinner begins at 5:30 p.m.