Photo courtesy of Brea Youngblood/Brea Photography
A diverse lineup of female chefs grounded in cooking traditions from around the world is cooking up a multi-course, socially distanced dinner at Bohlen Family Farms on August 30. Proceeds from the Ladies of the Canyon dinner will be donated to Maryville, Illinois-based nonprofit Eden’s Glory, which provides shelter and recovery programs for victims of human trafficking.
Photo by Liz Miller
Chef Rex Hale, formerly of Bakers & Hale, Three Sixty, and, most recently, active in organizing food relief efforts with AltonWorks during the COVID-19 pandemic, is facilitating the event, coordinating with the chefs and sourcing ingredients. But Hale says the dinner is all about the talents of the chefs themselves.
“They’re mostly people that nobody really has heard of, either because they’re really young and up and coming or they’ve come from another field,” Hale says. “The whole idea is to create an environment where somebody can witness that these ladies can really cook.”
London C-Tzey (pictured at right) recently moved to the St. Louis area from Florida, but has also spent time in Haiti; C-Tzey is of Haitian heritage. She has a background in graphic design and IT, but is looking to move into catering.
Chef Rona Leah is a Black chef and herbalist. “She’s phenomenal, she makes all kinds of food, holistic medicine, herbal remedies,” Hale says.
Hale says Heidi Hamamura (pictured at right) is an excellent sushi chef, like her father, Naomi, but the St. Louis Club chef also has a varied culinary skillset burnished from stints working with such top chefs as Ben Grupe and Bernie Lee.
Cuban-born Estie Cruz-Curoe is the owner of del Carmen foods. A familiar presence at local farmers’ markets, Cruz-Curoe is known for her Cuban-style black bean soups, hummus, and other dishes.
Crystal Stevens is a multi-talented farmer, herbalist, educator, and author of several books, including two cookbooks. With her husband, Eric, Stevens runs the school Tend and Flourish, Grow, Create, Inspire and their farm Flourish, growing produce and starter plants as well as providing a variety of gardening services, from design to education. “They’re into just about everything,” Hale says, “but she’s an amazingly talented cook.”
Finally, 16-year-old Carissa Hale will be in charge of the desserts for the evening. Hale, Rex’s daughter, has been baking cookies, cakes, and pastries “since she was 3 years old probably,” her father says. This will be her first major event, and Hale is confident that diners will be impressed. “I talked to her about it several months ago and said, ‘Listen, I’m going to put you up to this,’” Hale says. “It was time.”
The menu is a work in progress, but Hale says diners can expect seven or eight courses reflecting the talents in the kitchen. “I’d love to see them collaborate on the entire menu,” Hale says. “Obviously, one dish is going to be mostly guided by somebody, but I’d love to see some dishes where they all put their heads together and come up with something that’s really interesting. Each of them are extremely talented.”
Ingredients will all be sourced locally, including wine pairings from Missouri wineries. Live music from LéPonds will complete the evening’s entertainment.
Of course, appropriate social distancing is top of mind at the moment. Hale says the event will be strictly limited to 30 diners, seated at six tables of five.
The event will kick off at 5 p.m. on August 30 with appetizers, before the dinner gets underway at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $120 per person, which covers food, drinks, tax, and gratuity. Twenty-five percent of all proceeds will be donated to Eden’s Glory. Tickets must be booked in advance online.
“People don’t realize the amazingly talented people right under our noses,” Hale says. “You get a handful of chefs in the city that get all this notoriety, and I don’t think that’s appropriate. That’s nothing against them, but can’t you write about some of these people who are up-and-comers, people who are doing something right outside of the box?”
