You might know the Ferry Building as home to a marketplace of all things good to eat and drink any day of the week, but on Sunday, June 14th, it's stepping up its game.
That night, from 6–9pm, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), which runs the farmers markets at the building on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, is hosting one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, the Summer Celebration. It'll feature food samples from 40 of the hottest restaurants in town along with beverage samples from bars, wineries, breweries, coffee shops, juice companies and more. You'll get a feast of Herculean proportions for $125 a ticket ($85 of which is tax deductible).
To tickle your palate, here are just a few of the participating chefs, restaurants and drink slingers: Jen Musty of Batter Bakery; Chris Cosentino of Boccalone and Cockscomb; Tim Archuleta of ICHI Sushi; Evan Bloom and Leo Beckerman of Wise Sons Jewish Delicatessen; Anchor Distilling Company; Blue Bottle Coffee and Pressed Juicery. See the full list on the event page on CUESA's site.
Photo: Drew Altizer Photography
"Summer Celebration benefits all of the education programs we do—the free cooking demos, cooking skills classes, youth programs, the Foodwise Kids program," said Brie Mazurek, communications manager for CUESA. It's the group's second-largest fundraiser of the year, next to the Sunday Supper each fall, raising 21 percent of the annual funding from events. This is the fifth year.
And true to CUESA's roots in the market business, this event will feature a bounty of the season. Every taste of food and drink will include an ingredient from one of five summer plant families, including berries, leaves and flowers, cucurbits (cucumbers and melons), alliums (onion and garlic), and stone fruits.
Photo: Drew Altizer Photography
Five farms will be on hand, too, to do a tasting of their products and an interactive activity to help you get to know each plant grouping a little better. For instance, you might be asked to smell alliums and guess if it’s a chive or green garlic, Mazurek said.
"It’s all both delicious and fun," she added, "and we like to throw a bit of education in there as well to help people get to know an appreciate the seasonality you get at the farmers market and a lot of the produce you can’t get anywhere else."
Tickets are available online.
