THE LIVING PLATE SERIES
Celebrate HER: Promoting Women's Health Through Food
A Multi-Course Farm-To-Table Dinner & Farm Tour
Sunday, August 21st 3:30-7:30pm
The Chef: Chef Valentina Garcia Montaño
The Farmer: Missy Singer DuMars of Crown Hill Farm
The Foundation: Metavivor (Metastatic Breast Cancer Research, Support + Awareness)
hosted by HER Kitchen
Sit down to a beautiful + nutritious meal prepared by Chef Valentina Garcia Montaño. As you dine, learn about the health benefits of the ingredients on each plate, and how they can work to support women’s health. In order to work with what is at its best, the full menu will not be finalized until soon before the dinner.
Be greeted to Crown Hill Farm by Missy Singer DuMars with a tour of the farm and discussion of what is in season. Learn about the unique vegetable varieties she grows - chosen for flavor, color, joy & regional adaptability. Hear a bit of the rich history of Crown Hill Farm, from its farmhouse to its multiple owners as varied as what the gardens now grow!
Then, dine in the magical Woodland Grove, as you sit surrounded by gardens, hay fields & a vineyard. Take in the beauty of the early evening light as you experience truly farm-to-table ingredients, in addition to hand-selected beverage pairings chosen to compliment each course..
$110/person - includes:
a multi-course plant-based meal
a non-alcoholic healthy mocktail to compliment each course
a special presentation on women’s health through food
a guided tour of Crown Hill Farm
***Note: When you order tickets, please have one person order for your entire party. You will be seated with your party.
Non-refundable, non-transferable. Any allergies must be disclosed at the time of ticket purchase. All food selections will be 100% plant-based. Please email herkitchenbuffalo@gmail.com with any other dietary needs.
Chef Valentina Garcia Montaño
Valentina was born in Houston, Texas to a father whose meat skill knew no equal and a mother whose baking prowess could only be described as genius. At the age of three, she moved back to her native Argentina and was raised in a culinarily diverse environment with all the love and delicious food any young child could hope for. Her dear grandmother Maidi, “La Abu,” instilled in Valentina a deep love and appreciation for food and the dinner ritual. Valentina moved backed to the United States to Buffalo, NY, to be closer to her mom. She had her beautiful daughter Martina, with whom she shares her deep love and appreciation for food.
She has worked in kitchens across the city, including Tempo + most recently, as the Executive Chef at Ristorante Lombardo.
Missy Singer DuMars
I never set out to be a farmer. It was never a dream of mine. I grew up as a ’suburban/city-girl' where playing outside was on a golf course and manicured yards — not ponds and forests and fields. Animals were at zoos, not my backyard. Beyond the occasional houseplant, I had never grown a thing. I’ve had a range of careers in my life from the corporate entertainment industry to massage therapy and business coaching and undoubtedly, what always leads me is my insatiable curiosity and thirst to understand.
I stumbled my way into growing food. I’ve always had a passion for cooking, that began with helping my grandmother prepare holiday meals. Now, as an adult, I have chosen a specific dietary path and pay close attention to nutrition, health and the role food can play in natural wellness management. Growing food is a natural step in that quest to bring together more awareness of what goes into my body and creating beautiful, delicious meals.
I was definitely hesitant because farming was so far outside of anything I’d ever done before. I think it still scares me sometimes to take this venture on! Every day, I think I have no idea what I’m doing. I feel a deep responsibility to honor the sacred lives that are a part of this farm and often agonize over every decision, unsure if it is a good, wise, best choice. I think most farmers feel that regularly, whether seasoned multi-generation farmers or new like myself. Change is the one constant, but I have faith and trust in continuing to listen to what the land asks of me.
Farming has been rewarding beyond what I could imagine. I get to be outside every single day, breathing fresh air and deeply experiencing the changes of season and cycles of nature. I think that every lesson we need is available in the natural world: resiliency, beauty, abundance, gratitude, growth, change, death, rebirth and more. There is great pleasure in cooking food I have grown and nothing more rewarding than sitting down to a meal, looking at my plate and knowing every little detail of what went into that food. And, I’m so overjoyed to share that with others and witness their face light up at the same experience of delicious, simple nourishment of body and soul.
METAvivor is dedicated to the specific fight of women and men living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. At the time of METAvivor’s founding, no organization was dedicated to funding research for the disease and no patient groups were speaking out about the dearth of stage 4 cancer research. While more and more people have taken up the cry for more stage 4 research, METAvivor remains the sole US organization dedicated to awarding annual stage 4 breast cancer research.
METAvivor exists to sustain hope for those living with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We are a volunteer-led, non-profit organization that funds vital research to help improve the longevity and quality of life for MBC patients. Passionately committed patients ourselves, we rally public attention to the urgent needs of the MBC community, help patients find strength through support and purpose, and make every dollar count as we work with researchers to extend and improve quality of life for MBC patients.
OUR FUNDING
METAvivor is led by a small staff and volunteers, most of whom are living with metastatic breast cancer. We work to obtain grants and corporate sponsors to support our operational expenses. This allows us to ensure that donations can be entirely dedicated to our research grants that fund the cutting edge research that will ultimately save lives. Unless otherwise specified by the donor, 100% of every donation and 100% of proceeds from every fundraiser (after event expenses) goes into our research grants.