FAYETTEVILLE — Liz Esch and Bo Hickman love to cook and love to eat. One is a means to the other.
This shared passion led the friends to plan last year's Chefs in the Garden as a fundraiser for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks, where Esch works as events coordinator.
Though Hickman now has a full-time job, she again volunteered to help Esch plan this year's event, slated for Oct. 8. The casual affair celebrates local chefs and the cuisine they create during one of the prettiest months in the garden.
Last year's inauguralevent was a clear indication of the public's interest. Pasta-maker Barilla, the sponsor, brought in one of the Italian food company's executive chefs, Bruno Wehren.
They sold out - 400 tickets - two weeks before the event. Last year's musical entertainment was Ultra Suede. This year, Oreo Blue will perform under the Rotary Peace Arbor, and organizers hope for 500 guests.
Chefs from local restaurants will gather on the great lawn, setting up stations with their fare. People can chat with the chefs and move at their own pace from station to station.
"It brings people who are food lovers and like to entertain," Esch says.
Chefs will include Maudie Schmitt from Cafe Rue Orleans, William Lyle from Ella's Restaurant and Steven Brooks from Soul Restaurant & Lounge. Jesse Fox from Pinnacle Station Local Market, a gourmet grocery store inside a Rogers gas station, will also participate. Brandon Karn from Jammin Java will provide coffee drinks. Jennifer Matsubara from Shelby Lynn's Cake Shoppe and Hannah Withers from Little Bread Co. will bring sweets. There will also be a cash bar.
Tickets are $35 in advance and $45 the day of the event. The money raised - about $15,000 last year - will go to operations and education.
The brightly colored sculptural flowers by Lee Littlefield will be part of a silent auction, as will a trip to Big Cedar Lodge in Branson, spa packages, restaurant certificates and signed cookbooks.
The event celebrates the process of cooking and thegathering that good food brings.
Hickman's older siblings cooked more than she did, but she started honing her skills as a teenager. Now, her specialty is the chocolate cupcakes people have been requesting for 20 years.
"I make the best," she says.
Esch learned cooking techniques starting about age 6 from her mother, a gourmet cook. She helped her mom cook, and she and her brother often made chocolate chip cookies. She now makes a salad with "the works" - including a spring mix of greens, herbs and avocados. She also makes a Christmas custard flavored with rum and almond.
Esch often prepares bruschetta for events in the garden, so that recipe will be included in goodie bags for Chefs in the Garden.
Hickman likes that this fundraiser is a laid-back event and that it reminds people of the quality food prepared by local restaurants. The chefs can also be very entertaining themselves.
"There's just no way not to have fun," Hickman says.
These community-minded chefs donate their time and food to the event and several are returning from last year. They also try to use local produce in their recipes, the women say.
This year, Barilla is sponsoring a different food-focused event at the garden, spread over six weeks. Cooking in the Garden happens five more Sundays - today, Oct. 11 and 18 and Nov. 1 and 15. Culinary arts students from Northwest Arkansas Community College will demonstrate seasonal recipes and offer samples. Recipes and other goodies will be given away. Presentations are at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. on those dates. Fayetteville Farmers' Market vendors also sell produce andother items from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the garden every Sunday through Nov. 15 (except Oct. 25).
More information on Chefs in the Garden is available by calling Liz Esch at (479) 750-2620 or at
Northwest Profile, Pages 43, 46 on 09/27/2009