Whoo Cooks for You? is an event not to be missed
ONLY ON DAYTON. COM
YELLOW SPRINGS — Last weekend more than 160 people packed into tents in the middle of a nature preserve outside of the Glen Helen Raptor Center on a rainy evening to enjoy the Whoo Cooks for You? benefit.
The event started more than seven years ago with a farm to table event that had 40 people attend. As Ann Simonson, project manager at The Glen Helen Ecology Institute puts it, “fine dining in The Glen was born.”
Fast forward seven years later and 37 volunteers including local chefs, sous chefs, prep cooks, servers and bartenders came from local restaurants to volunteer and lend their talents.
The Sept. 9 dinner was a foodie delight that brought together some of Dayton’s best chefs who created a bountiful sixcourse feast, sourced from local farms and growers.
The evening began with passed hors d’oeuvres created by chef Maria Walusis from Watermark restaurant. Mango salsa in cucumber cups, caprese skewers with tomato-tortellini-mozzarella-basilbalsamic, seared rare tuna on wonton crisps with avocado and Thai chili glaze and honeydewmint-cucumber gazpacho shooters were the first flavors to savor. They were a nice, light way to start the evening out.
The next dish was created and executed by chef Jenn DiSanto of Fresco Foods. It was a plate she titled “Summer into Fall” featuring a caramelized leek flan with a composed seafood stack that was inventive, delicious and beautifully plated.
Chef Doug McGregor from Seasons Bistro and Grille took on the salad course — local greens with cherry-brined roast pheasant, port-braised onions, Blue Jacket Dairy Chevre and basil vinaigrette.
The main course was executed by chef Liz Valenti from Wheat Penny Oven and Bar and chef Elizabeth Wiley from Meadowlark Restaurant
— a truly fantastic slowbraised duck leg with garlic, rosemary and cherries. It was accompanied by a Carmen pepper stuffed with charred okra, herb roasted tomatoes and eggplant conserva.
A vegetarian and vegan option of ratatouille with local eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, garlic and herbs on warm farro was created by chef Carrie Walters of Dorothy Lane Market.
The cheese course, also done by Walters, featured a variety of cheeses, fresh local fruit and honey.
An imaginative, playful heirloom carrot cake from chef Dana Downs of Roost Modern Italian finished out the evening. And if that wasn’t enough savory sweet, olive oil and rosemary sea salt chocolates were at each place setting from Bluejay Chocolates (www.bluejaychocolates. com) to be enjoyed with coffee.
There was a live and silent auction, music, different Ohio wines and beer, and close encounters with the center’s education raptors, Glen Helen naturalists, and the new Raptor Center director, Rebecca Jaramillo. The evening was capped off with the release of two juvenile owls that had been rehabilitated.
I have heard about this event for years and this was the first time I was able to attend. It was every bit as impressive as I had been told and this is a food event I will make my best effort not to miss again.
“We take a year to plan this event. Elizabeth Wiley of the Meadowlark Restaurant and Liz Valenti of Wheat Penny Oven and Bar are our committee chairs. We start to think about and begin our strategic plan for the next year as soon as the event is over. The menu is planned closer to the event. As soon as we are able to determine what produce is ready to harvest and what meat can be donated, the chefs move into the creative planning of the menu. The chefs must work closely together. Without each chef ’s input, we could end up with just corn and tomatoes,” said Simonson. “All monies raised for this event support staff and services that work with rescued injured or sick raptors. We rescue over 270 raptors a year. Injuries can include hunter misconduct, power lines, poison, starvation or devastating car contact. This event also provides funds to manage, feed and train our residential raptors that are unable to be released back in to the wild. They become our educational, environmental ambassadors. These residential raptors work with over 3,000 school children and adults throughout the year with programming at our Outdoor Education Center and visits to area schools and organizations.”
This very special evening and meal may be over, but the chefs I have mentioned have food that can be enjoyed at restaurants across the region year-round.
I highly recommend a visit to any or all of these restaurants if you haven’t been lately, or even if you have.
Meadowlark, 5531 Far Hills Ave., Washington Twp., (937) 434-4750
Roost Modern Italian, 524 E. 5th St., Dayton, (937) 222-3100
Season’s Bistro & Grille, 28 S. Limestone St., Springfield, (937) 521-1200
Watermark, 20 S. 1st Street, Miamisburg, 937802-0891
Wheat Penny, 515 Wayne Ave, Dayton, (937) Visit Dayton.com to see a gallery of photos from the event with guests, food and some of the raptors that were featured.
Dayton Eats looks at the regional food stories and restaurant news that make mouths water. Share info about your menu updates, special dinners and events, new chefs, interesting new dishes and culinary adventures. Do you know of new exciting format changes, specials, happy hours, restaurant updates or any other tasty news you think is worth a closer look at? E-mail Alexis Larsen at alexis.e.larsen@hotmail.com with the information and we will work to include it in future coverage.