Slow Food St. Louis, a non-profit organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting food traditions, is pleased to announce that their annual fundraiser, The Art of Food, will be held this Saturday, July 25th, from 6:00 to 10:00 pm, at Mad Art Gallery (2727 S. 12th Street, 63118). Proceeds from the event will benefit both Slow Food St. Louis and Fair Shares Combined Community Supported Agriculture.

The Art of Food will showcase the area’s top restaurants, serving up delectable hors d’oeuvres using only the freshest, local ingredients prepared in the Slow Food tradition. Participating restaurants include:

Annie Gunn’s – Lou Rook III:

Roasted Prairie Grass Farms leg of lamb on grilled Companion bread with local peaches, Goatsbeard Farm chevre, and caramelized candy onions

Araka – Mark Curran:

Local watermelon gazpacho with sweet yellow corn, rock shrimp, and housemade fresh corn tortillas

Bailey’s Chocolate Bar/Rooster – David Bailey & Robin Murphy:

1. Fruitland Farms chipotle pulled pork with Eckert’s peach salsa on San Louis tortilla chips and 2. Builaland Family Farm jalapenos stuffed with Heartland Creamery goat cheese and caramelized onion, wrapped in Fruitland Farms bacon

Erato on Main – Kevin Willmann:

Farrar Out Farm rabbit gumbo

Harvest – Steve Gontram:

1. Missouri grass-fed oxtail barley with peppered ahi tuna and a roasted sweet red pepper emulsion and 2. Warmed Companion brioche bread pudding with bourbon currant sauce and vanilla whipped cream

Kakao Chocolate – Brian Pelletier:

1. Homemade marshmallow pies with chocolate and pecans and 2. Hand-dipped caramels with sea salt

Local Harvest Cafe – Clara Moore:

Biver Farms heirloom tomato flatbread with Goastbeard Farm goat cheese and pesto

Mad Art Gallery – Dave Lewis:

Citrus-cured Troutdale Farm trout with Baetje Farm goat cheese, fresh Claverach Farm cucumber-pickled ginger chutney and radish shoots on a black mustard seed cracker

Monarch – Josh Galliano:

Root Cellar and Hannaway Farms tomato terrine, whipped balsamic, Goatsbeard Farm chevre crème fraiche, and black olive oil

Niche – Gerard Craft:

Spicy Greenwood Farms pork meatballs

Clarksville Station @ Overlook Farm – Cary McDowell:

Vesterbrook Farm lamb “rillets” with Overlook Farm garden greens & chopped duck eggs

Serendipity Ice Cream – Beckie Jacob:

“Peaches and Cream Floats” – Calhoun County peach ice cream floated in Fitz’s cream soda

Sidney Street Cafe – Kevin Nashan:

EIEIO Acres goat sliders with pickled St. Isidore Farms eggplant, arugula, and curry aioli on a housemade sesame bun

Winslow’s Home and Farm – Stephen Kovac:

1. Chilled Winslow’s Home and Farm eggplant soup with sweet curry crème fraiche and 2. Garlic-rubbed Benne’s Best smoked chicken with Winslow’s Home and Farm red onion jalapeno jam on toasted 222 Artisan Bakery baguette

All bread products will be provided by 222 Artisan Bakery (Matt Herren) and Companion (Josh Allen).

Food-themed art by local artists and gift baskets filled with a variety of specialty goodies from boutiques, wineries, and restaurants are also up for auction. Artists include Julie Malone, Cbabi Bayoc, Greg Barth, Ron Buechele, Marie Oberkirsch, Carmelita Nunez, Katy Fischer, and many more.

Tickets for the event are $30 for Slow Food members and $40 for non-members in advance; $40 for Slow Food members and $50 for non-members at the door. Sponsors include Mad Art Gallery, Sauce Magazine, and Schlafly. St. Louis Earth Day will also be managing the recycling efforts.

Slow Food is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic, member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions, and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. Fair Shares is a non-profit organization dedicated to getting fresh, local, seasonal food into the hands of more persons in St. Louis – regardless of their income.

Tickets are limited and can be purchased through Brown Paper Tickets.

See you there!