Chefs For Farmers Food + Wine Festival is back in Dallas for its 16th edition, running November 4 through 8, with the ticketed Main Event set for Old City Park. What began in 2010 as a single farm dinner has grown into five days of dinners, tastings, chef-farmer collaborations and new experiences across the city.
The festival's Main Event takes place at Old City Park, located at 1515 South Harwood Street, according to the Dallas Observer. Ticketed festival hours run from 2 p.m. Saturday, November 7, through 6 p.m. Sunday, November 8, per Chefs For Farmers' ticketing site. The broader five-day run, from November 4 through 8, marks the festival's 16th edition, as CultureMap Dallas reports.
Guests at the Main Event can expect unlimited food and drink from Texas chefs who work directly with local farmers, according to the festival's own website. That farm-to-chef pipeline has been part of the event's DNA since the start — the first Chefs For Farmers dinner in 2010 seated about 125 people and involved just five chefs and five farmers, per the same CultureMap report.
A First-Ever James Beard Collaboration
For the first time, Chefs For Farmers is partnering with the James Beard Foundation on a Friends of James Beard Dinner, scheduled for November 4. The dinner will feature chefs Misti Morris of Far Out, Reilly Brown of Frenchie, RJ Yoakum of Sushi Kozy, Jennie Kelley and Brandon Moore of Fond, and Brenda Perez of The Village, with Meridian's Eduardo Osorio hosting, the organization's site states.
The 2026 Main Event will also introduce several new experiences, including the Texas Smoke Show, the Palm Beaches Garden, and Boots, Barrels and BMW, per the CultureMap report. Each participating chef receives a stipend from Chefs For Farmers to source fresh ingredients from local farms, a practice the organization says is built into every event.
Charity Beneficiary and Entry Rules
The Seed Project Foundation remains the festival's Dallas charity beneficiary this year, and the organization will receive $10 from every Main Event general admission ticket sold, per the same CultureMap report. Chefs For Farmers is restricted to attendees 21 and older, and valid photo identification is required for entry, according to the festival's website.
From a Farm Table to a Statewide Draw
What started as an intimate farm-to-table dinner has since grown into one of the state's defining food and wine gatherings, the festival says on its site. The event expanded from that original field dinner for about 100 people into a three-day celebration drawing more than 4,000 attendees, according to Edible DFW.
Even during the pandemic, the organization kept its mission alive by hosting small restaurant buyouts and virtual programming, directing 80 percent of that revenue straight to participating chefs and restaurants, according to D Magazine. By 2021, the festival was directly hiring more than 100 people in various roles and working with 60 participating restaurants and their staffs, the outlet reported, with at least 30 partners traveling in from around the country for the event.
The ripple effects have extended to small producers, too. Profound Microfarm reported growing its customer base from seven to 26 customers after first participating in Chefs For Farmers, according to the D Magazine report, while Texas Fungus told Edible DFW it has gained roughly 50 percent more new clients after the event each year. The festival's stated purpose, organizers say, has stayed consistent since 2010: to champion the chefs and farmers who build Dallas's food scene, giving them a platform to meet, collaborate and grow their businesses together.
