Dinner At the... web copy (Totally Local VC)

What a difference a year makes

Twelve months ago, with Totally Local VC operating well under the community radar but already
picking up speed, Kat Merrick and her allies unveiled an ambitious notion – to create an alliance of local farmers and chefs in a series of spectacular one-time-only dining events for a discriminating subset of the Gold Coast community. Dubbed Dinner At the… for the sake of the ever-changing location, the series became an overnight sensation.

While farm-to-plate fetes are hardly a new idea, TLVC’s mission added just the right spice to the recipe, emphasizing community as the unequivocal centerpiece to each event. Just as TLVC’s mission is dedicated to local living across a wide spectrum, so the events are meant to express a broad experience of community, of “living local” with high intention: honoring the community by staging the events in high-profile, imagination-catching venues; honoring the farmer by sourcing the food from local, organic growers; honoring the craft by engaging some of the area’s most celebrated chefs to create the meals; honoring local vintners and brewers by offering the finest local wines and ales. Truly, the county’s cup runneth over, and nowhere is the fact more in evidence than at the Dinner At the… king’s table, where neighbors and strangers come together to pass the platter and celebrate, in a word, community.

The contrast between last and this year is evident in more ways than one, as TLVC rolls out the slate for 2012′s Dinner At the… series: while last year the series was only a potentiality, with much to prove, this year it lands on the calendar a tried-and-true hit, and a hot ticket on the veritable eve of sales. Anticipation is already high among a dining public keen to see what’s next in the popular and innovative series; as before, proceeds will go to benefit Food Share, and, as before, the well-known non-profit’s ubiquitous volunteers will anchor the labor force. The series will again enjoy sponsorship from Ventura Rentals, and will also benefit from backing by Republic Recycling.
That said, the question of the hour remains “where” Dinner At the…” will actually be served – and the lineup looks like this:

Dinner At the Orchard, May 24

Chef Jason Collis of Plated Events returns to the series, bringing his fare to the citrus hillside of Santa Paula’s Limoneira Ranch. Wines will be provided by Four Brix Winery, and complemented by the beers of Surf Brewery.

Dinner At the Mission, July 26

Chef Tim Kilcoyne of Sidecar Cafe takes over the kitchen as the event lands in the county’s historic birthplace, the grounds of Mission San Buenaventura, where the community founded by no less a personage than Junipero Serra himself, some 230 years ago. Wine tasting will be offered in the Mission Gardens by Emilio Estevez’s Casa Dumetz Winery and Surf Brewery, and Shannon Marie returns to the series with her extraordinary desserts.

Dinner At the Ocean, September 20

The Cave’s Chef Gary Daniels toplines the autumn event, which journeys to land’s end to a seaside setting, to celebrate all the charm of our coastal lifestyle. Wine tasting kicks off the event with The Ojai Vineyard and Surf Brewery.