July's Kitchen Table Dinner pairs the vision and talent of two chefs from Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, with a bounty of local produce from Spring Creek Food Hub.  Chef Vince Pianalto, shaped by his family's farm and grandmother's baking, and Chef Marshall Shafkowitz, with his refined restaurant experience, will come together to express their shared passion for teaching and storytelling through food. The three course meal will be interspersed with additional surprise courses -- a tasting parade to showcase the summer season. Expect to savor Brightwater's signature flavors, featuring notes of apple, honey, lavender, and cardamom throughout the evening's celebration of local food.
 

Featured Chefs - Chef Vince Pianalto began his career in kitchens as a dishwasher at age 16 and worked his way up through the ranks to having become executive chef/owner of more than one restaurant in the area and to garnering a reputation as one of the best pastry chefs for hundreds of miles around.  Along the way, Pianalto received instruction at Le Cordon Bleu and Chicago establishments, and trained in baking and chocolate in Seattle with the leading chef for the U.S. Baking team. From a family owned Italian restaurant to a French pastry shop, experience gained from each business venture added to his base of knowledge. While operating a bakery in Fayetteville, Vince began teaching in the baking program of the area community college. Vince was then approached in 2009  by Springdale School District, his alma mater,  to head their culinary program.  He gained certification through the Arkansas Education Board and began teaching all levels of culinary curriculum, including ProStart, an industry-backed culinary arts and restaurant management program for high school students. Often asked how he was able to get his students to perform at that level, Vince would claim ‘ I never told them they couldn’t do anything.’    

Chef Marshall Shafkowitz currently serves as the Executive Director of Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food. With over 20 years of professional experience in culinary education, including K-12 and higher education arenas, and 27 years of restaurant and hospitality industry experience in the U.S. and Europe, Chef Marshall Shafkowitz has built a career out of his love for food and a passion to share his knowledge. Shafkowitz currently holds a position on the SkillsUSA Culinary Arts Technical Committee as a Skills Arkansas Culinary & Commercial Baking Lead Judge. He is also the 2022-2023 Commander, Naval Installations Command Culinary Competition Kitchen Boss, and is a nationally recognized speaker and member of several local and national industry organizations. In 2016 he was named the American Culinary Federation Chicago Chapter Chef Educator of the Year and a 2021 Celebrate Arkansas Ones to Watch award winner.

The Spring Creek Food Hub  connects farmers and community, putting local food on local tables. By providing education, technical assistance, and supply chain access for local farmers, they move food to where people eat, shop, work, and play, ensuring healthy food access for all Northwest Arkansans. Their goals include supporting local farmers, creating easy access to local foods, and preserving agricultural land to ensure NWA has space to farm for generations to come. 

About the Kitchen Table Dinner Series -  Born out of a desire to build a community around great food, Apple Seeds' Kitchen Table Dinner series is designed to recreate the feeling of gathering around a dear friend's table. These dinners aim to bridge the gap often felt between the chef and diners in a typical dining environment, thereby creating a deeper connection to the food on the plate. Through intentional procurement of local, seasonal ingredients, the transparent preparation of the meal, and storytelling by the chef, each plate is transformed from food into an unforgettable dining experience.
Event Details:

FRIDAY, July 26

6:00-7:00 PM

Cocktail hour: Enjoy watching meal preparations or mingle in the garden.

7:00-8:30 PM

Multi-course dinner: Your chef will create a fresh meal with elements from the garden.  Enjoy the food, farm & company.

The dinner takes place on the Teaching Farm.

Seating for this event will be located outdoors under the covered pavilion.  These dinners are rain or shine.  All Kitchen Table Dinner series events are fundraisers with limited seating; we cannot offer refunds for tickets purchased. 

Your participation in Apple Seeds' events supports our mission to inspire healthy living through garden-based education for students around Northwest Arkansas and beyond!