This luxury outdoor dining experience is back at this famous Homestead farm
Luxury farm-to-table dining is returning to Paradise.
Paradise Farms, a Homestead farm that supplies many restaurants with produce and more, is relaunching its luxurious Dinners in Paradise dining series this Sunday, reviving an upscale dining experience that has been missing from Miami-Dade for almost 10 years.
The series, created by former Paradise Farms owner Gabriele Marewski, is now directed by entrepreneur Karla Dascal of The Sacred Space in Miami. Dascal says she hopes to carry on Marewski’s dream of celebrating top chefs, farm-to-table meals and organically grown local produce.
“Gabriele planted the seeds,” says Dascal, who also ran the vegetarian restaurant Plant Miami, which closed in 2022. “She was the first to create farmto-table experiences like this in Miami. Now, we’re gearing up to introduce a different farm-to-table experience, whether it’s sustainable seafood-forward or vegan or just the best of the best in South Florida.”
But when Dascal says “local” she doesn’t mean only in Miami-Dade (though plenty of MiamiDade produce will find its way to the table). The dinners will source ingredients from all over Florida, highlighting sustainable and organic practices.
Previous dinners included such chefs as Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine and Giorgio Rapicavoli of Eating House.
The reboot of the series kicks off with a five-course, seafood-forward meal from Chefs Evan Burgess and Osmel Gonzalez of EntreNos, a tiny restaurant in Miami Shores dedicated to sourcing as much of its menu as possible from Florida. Though it only opened in 2023, the restaurant — which uses the space at Tinta y Cafe at night — was added to the Michelin Guide this year.
“They’re very wellversed in farm-to-table and sustainability,” Dascal says. “Back then, Gabriele chose those types of chefs, the ones who wanted to source the best produce and form that relationship with local farmers.”
Burgess said their restaurant’s philosophy is a perfect fit with what Paradise Farms is trying to achieve.
“I think it’s about community, in the sense of really supporting everyone,” he says. “So many farmers have been gracious to us and supported our business, we want to support them. The only way to ensure the good guys stay there in Homestead is to support them . ... It’s the same with fishermen. If you don’t support local fishermen you see truckloads of spiny lobster going to China. Not that China shouldn’t get our products, but we want to make sure a lot of that stuff stays here.”
Gonzalez agrees.
“We should be conscious of where food is coming from,” he says. “That’s a goal for us, to show people around us that Florida seafood is great. Why bring it in from other countries? And there’s not just snapper and grouper — there are a lot more fish that are wonderful.”
Sunday’s dinner will also include wine pairings; a tour; and a Q-and-A session with the farmers and the chefs. A percentage of the proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Paradise Foundation, which is dedicated to providing educational opportunities through agriculture, aspiring growers, chefs, culinary arts and cultivating local community engagement. The foundation is built on the regenerative farming movement, which includes practices to battle climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring soil biodiversity.
Because Florida’s growing season ends in May, the next dinner won’t be scheduled until fall. Dascal hopes to schedule five or six dinners a season and says she believes the strong interest that diners have in knowing where their food is coming from will fuel attendance at the events.
“It’s going to be imperative for every chef to support their local farmers, because that’s what people want,” she says. “People want to know what they’re eating. There’s a lot of work to be done, and all that comes with awareness and education.”