7 Wisconsin Chefs Featured at Fondy Farm Feast
Multi-course meal at Fondy Farm raises funds for healthy food access in Milwaukee.
Fondy Farm Feast 2023. Photo courtesy of Fondy.
Last August, on a cloudless Wisconsin evening, the sun set on the 12th annual Fondy Farm Feast. Martha Davis Kipcak hopes the 2024 dinner on Aug. 18 will be equally picturesque.
“It would be a lot to ask to do it again, but that’s what I’m asking for,” said Davis Kipcak, vice president of the board of directors for Fondy.
The outdoor meal, held under a gleaming white tent at Fondy Farm in Mequon, gathers farmers, donors, and Fondy supporters for a meal prepared by acclaimed local chefs, serving as both a nexus for community connection and the organization’s largest fundraising push of the year.
“We are a small and lean nonprofit that lifts a lot,” Davis Kipcak said of Fondy, which aims to increase access to healthy, local food and economic opportunity throughout the Milwaukee area.
“It really is a fundraiser and also a friend-raiser, so that more and more people can know and understand the mission of the Fondy Food Center and the impact that we have in Milwaukee in the areas of food justice, food access, supporting small family farmers, local entrepreneurs and advocating for a lot of … very vital issues that face our communities in Milwaukee.”
Fondy’s initiatives include year-round farmers markets, an EBT match program for low-income shoppers and the Fondy Farm Project, which supports 25 local farmers on 40 acres of land leased from Mequon Nature Preserve.
Attendees of the feast will be able to see the latter project in action, as the dinner overlooks farmland where the mostly Hmong-American farmers are producing crops — many of which will be showcased in the meal.
Gregory Leon of Amilinda is one of seven chefs appointed to prepare the multi-course meal. He plans to serve marinated skirt steak with a salad of potatoes, corn, pickled red onions, and lettuce; all of the vegetables will be harvested fresh from the farm.
Leon is a perennial participant at the feast, having cooked for 10 of the past 12 dinners. In that time, he went from a young, relatively unknown chef — in his words — to a James Beard-nominated restaurateur.
“It was the first big event that I did when I came to Milwaukee,” Leon said. “It was just such an amazing feeling to be welcomed by this community who had no idea who I was, had never tried my food, but wanted me to be a part of this amazing experience.”
Leon said the initial invitation “opened a lot of doors,” and he’s happy for to opportunity to continue giving back. “It’s my favorite thing to do every year. I will be there as long as I’m in Milwaukee.”
Chefs Zakiya Courtney of Vegan Soul, Mary Kastman of The Driftless Cafe, Martin Magaña of Troublemakers Cocina, Travis Martinez of the Pfister Hotel, Samantha Sandrin of Midwest Sad and Kristen Schwab of Uncle Wolfie’s Dinner Diner will also contribute to the meal.
The event is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. with passed appetizers and tractor rides, according to Davis Kipcak. Silent and live auctions, dinner and speeches will follow, with the meal being served family-style for an expected 200 attendees. Those who select the vegan meal will be served individually.
The event will conclude at sunset.
Fondy Farm Feast takes place at Mequon Nature Preserve, 10150 N. Swan Rd.
Tickets, $150 each, are available to purchase online.
Photos
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
