Local chefs raise awareness of Houston food deserts.
Four Houston chefs are collaborating on a dinner series next month to bring awareness to Houston’s food deserts, described as areas where there is minimal access to fresh-food markets or commercial grocery stores. The project is called Food Apartheid Dinner Series and will kick off Sept. 4.
The participating chefs run popular and highly acclaimed Houston restaurants: Dawn Burrell of Kulture, Jonny Rhodes of Indigo, Chris Williams of Lucille’s and Dominick Lee of Poitín. Funds from the dinners will be used to purchase farm-fresh vegetables and proteins directly from local farmers and ranchers that will be distributed free to the Trinity Gardens community during the series finale Sept. 24 at Indigo.
The first dinner, Sept. 4, will be held at Poitín, 2313 Edwards, at 5 p.m. — a collaborative, familystyle meal hosted by Lee. The menu includes pimento agnolotti with ham broth, compressed tomato salad with charred corn and pickled shrimp, smoked mushrooms with goat cheese and onion confit, smoked waterfowl with barbecue sauce, vegetarian rice purloo, beef cheeks, creamed kimchee collards, whole roasted jerk snapper and praline bread pudding. Tickets are $80 per person and include vodka pairings. The second dinner, Sept. 10, will be held at Burrell’s Kulture, 701 Avendia de las Americas, at 5 p.m. The family-style meal will include seasonal vegetable salad with pecan vinaigrette, wagyu chili tartar, whole fish with tamarind sauce and collard green salad, whole suckling pig, rice dumplings with charred okra, cauliflower and chickpea curry, and a Carolina gold rice ice cream sandwich. Tickets are $125 and include wine pairings.
The third dinner, at Williams’ Lucille’s, 5512 La Branch, at 5 p.m., will feature nine courses, including chicken croquettes, summer salad, oyster turnover, spoonbread, roast beef with smoked mashed potatoes, smoked mushrooms and caramelized vegetable cream, and dessert. Tickets are $225 with wine pairings.
The final event, Sept. 24, will be held at 6 p.m. at Indigo, 517 Berry. It is described as a garden party that will be free and open to the public. Music, games, live cooking demonstrations and food stations will be featured. Fresh produce will be given to the public.
“The lasting effect of food deserts is an issue that is near and dear to all of our hearts,” Lee said. “We all know someone or grew up in communities affected by them, so we’ve seen it first hand.”
The chefs are using the word “apartheid,” defined as a system of segregation on the grounds of race, to drive home the extreme separation and segregation of fresh-food access across the country.
“I think the four of us coming together to do this speaks volumes,” Williams said. “This isn’t for our own benefit. It’s truly us teaming up to sow back into the communities that have inspired and raised us.”
Burrell said: “I’m excited for the four of us to mesh our cooking styles together throughout the month of September. We’ll get to still put smiles on people’s faces with our food while raising funds that will change lives.”
Rhodes, whose neo-soul restaurant Indigo is inspired by the foodways of African slaves and indigenous people, called food deserts an important socioeconomic issue.
“The reality is that millions of people that reside in lower-income areas have restricted access to fresh food and ingredients,” he said. “They want to make better decisions when it comes to feeding their families, but the combination of the lack of food education and ingredient access makes it nearly impossible. Our restaurant is smack dab in the middle of one of Houston’s many food deserts.”
Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite. There is a bundle option for all four events for $375 per person.