SOLD OUT: Wild Table Dinner with Rick Spicer and Chef Travis McConnell: A Culinary Adventure in Venison
SOLD OUT: Wild Table Dinner with Rick Spicer and Chef Travis McConnell: A Culinary Adventure in Venison
Apple Seeds’ final event of the year is one you won’t want to miss. Wild Table: A Culinary Adventure in Venison* brings together two industry professionals for storytelling and good food, spotlighting the possibilities in cooking with venison and our responsibility to conservation.
Rick Spicer of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers will start the evening with a discussion around the nuances of hunting, followed by a multi-course venison feast by Chef Travis McConnell, courtesy of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
Seating is limited, so reserve your spot for this one-night-only event on Sunday, December 8th, at 5:30 p.m.!
Featured Lecturer - Rick Spicer, an avid hunter, conservationist, and primitive skills guru will be leading a discussion on the ethics and sustainability of capturing food from wild resources. Rick is representing the Arkansas chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers who have a mission of protecting access to public lands and waters and engaging with legislators, state agencies and other organizations on related issues. Rick is also the co-owner of Pack Rat Outdoor Center in Fayetteville, AR.
Featured Chef - Travis McConnell recently joined Brightwater as a butchery instructor, leading the launch of the new Artisan Butchery Program. This program is offered within the Brightwater Meat Institute and was designed by Chef McConnell to teach whole animal butchery, the craft of charcuterie, and the business practices essential to running an artisanal butchery operation. In collaboration with small family farms within the region, the program aims to support local producers and train the next generation of butchers and processors through hands-on learning. Taking a unique social entrepreneurship approach, students then learn and apply their skills within an educational setting.
Chef McConnell’s vision is to cultivate a new model of artisanal butchery that serves local communities and fosters sustainable business practices in the butchery and meat processing industry.
Travis received formal training at the New England Culinary Institute, and has most recently held the positions of Executive Chef at Pressroom and Recipe and Development Chef at Ropeswing. He has worked at well-known establishments including Higgins Restaurant & Bar in Portland, OR, Boccalone Salumeria in San Francisco, CA, Revival Bar + Kitchen in Berkeley, and The Capital Hotel in Little Rock, AR. It was at each of these businesses that he developed a love for the craft of whole animal butchery & old-world meat curing.
About Wild Table -- Wild Table is a dinner series hosted by Apple Seeds at their teaching farm in Fayetteville. Each dinner is paired with an engaging discussion led by local experts on wild and foraged foods. The meals are intended to showcase the incredible abundance and potential that is wild foods, while providing a platform to discuss the nuanced issues that surround access to, conservation of, and harvesting limitations of those foods.
Event Details:
Sunday, December 8, 2024
5:30-6:30 PM
Drinks and discussion led by Rick Spicer
6:30-8 PM
Multi-course dinner by Chef Travis McConnell
The dinner takes place in the Apple Seeds Teaching Kitchen on the Teaching Farm.
Seating for this eventwill be inside our cozy kitchen. These dinners are rain or shine. All Wild Table 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!
Note for our Wild Table Dinner: * The venison has been tested for CWD but by choosing to eat wild venison, you acknowledge the unique qualities and potential risks associated with consuming wild game. We are committed to high standards of food safety and quality in every dish we serve.
Seating is limited. Please keep in mind that these events sell out. We are unable to offer refunds for this fundraiser.
Please contact carol@appleseedsnwa.org if you have any dietary restrictions or a vegetarian request.
Please arrive at 5:30pm for cocktails and discussion. Dinner will be served at 6:30pm.
The dinner takes place in the Teaching Kitchen, located at the Apple Seeds Teaching Farm in Gulley Park, Fayetteville.
Parking is available in the Gulley Park parking lot off of Old Wire Road. From there it's a short walk north to the gates of the Apple Seeds Teaching Farm. For drop-offs only, the address is 2648 N. Old Wire Road. Please note that there is no parking available in the driveway.
The Kitchen Table benefits Apple Seeds’ programs.
Apple Seeds is an education nonprofit based in Fayetteville, AR. For more than 15 years, Apple Seeds has been serving Northwest Arkansas. In that time, the organization has made great strides, positively impacting healthy eating in our community—student surveys show improved attitudes toward healthy food and heightened knowledge of nutrition. Apple Seeds provides a variety of programs, including Farm Lab, Farm to Table cooking classes, Cooking in the Schools, Food Ambassador, summer camps and school garden workshops. For more information visit www.appleseedsnwa.org