Martha Stewart and Alice Waters — two of America’s best-known food icons — will be in Park City for ChefDance — a dining and fundraising event that coincides with the Sundance Film Festival.
The four-day celebration of food and film — now in its 17th year — attracts some of the country’s best chefs, bringing awareness to various causes and raising money for charity. This year, the private dinners will take place in the Memorial Building, 427 Main St.
Waters — the chef, author, activist and founder of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, Calif. — will be honored Friday. Proceeds from the event will benefit her Edible Schoolyard Project, which provides hands-on experiences that connect children to food, nature and one another.
Chef Gabriela Camara — of Cala restaurant in San Francisco and Onda in Los Angeles — will prepare the meal using corn, beans and squash, the three sisters of Native American agriculture, Waters said in a prepared statement. The three crops are planted together and support one another as they grow.
“I really want to communicate that when we make food, we can make the connections between food, agriculture and climate,” Waters said. “The way that we eat really determines the way that we take care of the land, and that’s connected to the way we take care of the planet. I call it a delicious revolution. We sit at the table and begin to solve the problems of the world — eating with determination.”
Cookbook author and television personality Martha Stewart will be honored during Saturday’s ChefDance dinner. Michelin chef Melissa Perello — from Frances and Octavia in San Francisco and M. Georgina in Los Angeles — will prepare the meal that benefits the nonprofit Future Generations Now.
Utah chef Galen Zamarra, from The Lodge at Blue Sky in Wanship, will be in the spotlight Sunday, preparing a meal that benefits Kroger’s Zero Hunger, Zero Waste campaign.
Finally, on Sunday, chef Shawn McClain — of Sage in Las Vegas, and Highlands Steakhouse in Detroit — cooks to support Operation Smile.