Support Efforts to End Mass Incarceration at This Farm-to-Table Dinner
Proceeds will be donated to Books Through Bars and the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund.
Chef Kurt Evans | Signature Catering Company/Facebook
A good meal is a wonderful thing, but dining out for an important cause is even better. And this Saturday, January 13th, one Philly chef is serving up the opportunity to learn about and support efforts to end mass incarceration over a multicourse meal.
With the first of his End Mass Incarceration dinner series, chef Kurt Evans hopes to raise awareness around the dramatic increase in prison populations in the United States over the past 40 years, which disproportionately targets people of color and far exceeds the number of incarcerated people in other developed countries.
On January 13th at 6:30 p.m., Evans will collaborate with chef Ross Harakas of Rx The Farmacy for a multicourse meal at the Spruce Hill BYO. The menu includes farm-to-table fare as well as Evans’ take on chi chi, a comfort food often made by inmates from ingredients that can be procured at prison commissaries — like instant ramen noodles, Cheetos or spicy chips, meat snacks, and sugar — and typically cooked in cell with hot tap water in a garbage bag.
All proceeds from the End Mass Incarceration dinner series will benefit the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, which posts bail for residents of Philadelphia who cannot afford to pay it, and Books Through Bars, which sends quality reading material to inmates in prison. Kevin Harden, Jr., Esq. of Philly law firm Ross Feller Casey will curate the evening’s discussion.
Check out the full menu for Saturday’s dinner and discussion below. Tickets start at $68 per person, with the option to increase your donation to these worthy causes, and you can get them here.
Evans already has second dinner in the series set for Sunday, February 18th at El Compadre.
End Mass Incarceration Dinner Menu
Rx The Farmacy
January 13th, 2018
Amouse bouche
House-made chi chi
Roasted golden beets
Crispy beet chips, shaved candy cane beets, asparagus, curried farro, toasted pepitas, limoncello vinegar, local honey, beet greens
Roasted carrots
Curry aioli, pickled onion, chopped pecan, raisin purée, carrot tops
Day boat scallops
Day boat scallop, roasted pork belly*, cannellini beans, sautéed collard greens, micro citrus
*can be swapped for beef bacon
Grilled lamb loin
Chickpea purée, cucumber, caramelized yogurt, lemon preserves
Deconstructed strawberry shortcake
Vanilla cake, macerated strawberries, mint cream, strawberry dust, thyme whipped cream, mint, strawberry syrup
Grilled pear
Caramelized coconut milk, pear purée, pecan streusel
