Paradise Farms owner Gabriele Marewski seems remarkably serene, considering that one of the two

chefs scheduled to cook this evening, Alberto Cabrera, of Karu & Y, has cancelled his participation
at Dinner in Paradise, a monthly gathering where local celebrity chefs collaborate with chefs from
the Homestead, Florida, farm, to present an organic dinner to 60 guests. Karu & Y has just
announced the closing of the restaurant, and “Chef Alberto is gathering up all the perishables in
order to donate them to Camillus House,” Ms. Marewski graciously offers. The team of four chefs
from the Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, led by head chef George Fistrovich, along with farm chef
Christian Urbani, appear prepared to pick up the slack. The group of white-coated chefs moves
slowly through the fields, eyes straining to recognize herbs perhaps never before seen in their
growing environment. “Some lemon verbena for Fred's dessert?” says Chef Fistrovich, as he cups
the green herb in his hands and breathes in deeply. He pulls out a sharp folding knife to cut off
some leaves. 'Fred' is Frederic Monnet, who is kneeling on the ground nearby, getting his nose
close to some mint. The glamorous life of a Ritz-Carlton pastry chef? “Actually, my parents have a
farm near Lyon, France, where I grew up. This is normal for me,” he smiles, ready to get back to
the serious work of picking some fennel sprigs.

Dinner in Paradise was started three years ago by Ms. Marewski and Chef Michael Schwartz, then
cooking at Afterglo, now at the wildly successful Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in the Design
District. The event was conceived to help Hurricane Katrina victims, and in their first year they
raised over $6,000 for organic farmers in Louisiana. Last year the beneficiary was Earth Learning,
a local green organization, and this year it is TREEmendous Miami (“They grow trees,” says Ms.
Marewski, succinctly.) While Chef Schwartz has become way too busy at his restaurant to help out
as much as he used to, he will be cooking here at the March 9th 'Slow Foods Miami' dinner, along
with Escopazzo Chef Giancarla Bodonis, and Chef Mark Zeitouni from The Standard's Lido
Restaurant (the $150 per person event, which was expanded to 85 guests, has been sold out for
months). According to Chef Schwartz, “I miss the dinners, they're very special. Of course it makes
me feel good to have a busy restaurant,” he says, “but I always look forward to getting Gabriele's
list of what she is harvesting right at that moment, and putting together a menu that includes the
freshest ingredients, like pea shoots, or grape tomatoes.”

The setting is almost mystical, and, in fact, some of the structures, including Ms. Marewski's
passively cooled house (no A/C), as well as the arbor and gazebo under which the guests will eat
dinner, were designed by local architect Robert Barnes, using the principles of 'sacred geometry'.
“At Paradise Farms,” he says, after consulting a swinging gold amulet to divine 'good energy',
“chaos comes into coherence, and we consecrate the vibration. I thank Gabriele for allowing me do
her farm.” After Ms. Marewski rings a country farm bell, a quick tour takes the guests through a
maze of “incredible abundance”, where tiny tomatoes have simply “popped up”, and weeds near
trees are pulled by hand, to keep machetes away from them. Her purple house, and the nearby
sweat lodge and sacred circle, all have, “A great aura,” says Melissa Simpson, a three-year veteran
of the dinners, whose day job is Administrative Manager at Pizza Rustica, and whose job here is
Floor Manager. “I got involved in the first dinner because of Michael Schwartz,” she says, “and
I've worked at every one since.” Amazingly, although there have been some minor slip-ups, “An
event has never gone wrong,” according to Ms. Simpson. Perhaps the dozen or more volunteers,
and the three Cordon Bleu interns, are also charmed by the bucolic setting.

The crowd is mixed, some young, some old, a few people in the restaurant business, but mostly
couples looking for an unusual experience, a meal eaten on the farm where some of the food was
actually grown. “We're trying to close the loop,” says Ms. Marewski. “It's an opportunity to open
our farm for people to get a glimpse of what it takes to farm locally, and maybe inspire them to start
a small garden, and then they are one step closer to the ultimate goal, growing their own food.” In
fact, according to Chef Schwartz, it's amazing how prevalent the lack of understanding is, when it
comes to how food ends up on peoples' plates. “Most people shop at a grocery store, and they don't
get how hard farming food really is,” he says. “But when they come to Paradise Farms, they get a
sense of why it's important; they appreciate local, fresh food more, and waste less.”

As we saunter back to the gazebo, passing rare Butea trees, called Flame-of-the-Forest for their
bright orange blossoms, as well as small pomelo trees, whose big fruits are heavy, and lightly
swaying in the cool evening breeze, the mood is relaxed, and the chefs seem to have everything
under control. The hors d' oeuvres, which include a mouth-watering jigger-full of smooth
cauliflower cream topped with organic, smoked American caviar and basil oil, and a simple Sun
Gold tomato bruschetta, are served, along with some fruity aperitif wines, provided by Homestead's
Schnebley Winery. After everyone takes their seat, Ms. Marewski introduces the chefs, and they
introduce their dishes. There are six courses, each accompanied by a glass of wine (nothing special,
but well-paired), starting with the Carambola Paradise Salad, which contains baby brassica greens
and edible flowers that are grown on the farm. The centerpieces, incidentally, are created using all
edible flowers. The purple wild petunias are particularly sweet, although dozens of different types
are grown on the farm, most ending up in high-end restaurants in the Miami area, or bound for one
of the two farmers markets that Paradise Farms started participating in this year (Coral Gables on
Saturday, Las Olas on Sunday).
The second course is a giant yellow calabasa flower, which tastes much like a zucchini blossom,
served with organic eggs, sweet fennel, and Key West pink shrimp. The presentation is so unusual,
guests are staring in disbelief. I don't think anyone has ever seen a flower that big, on a plate. This
is followed by a small dish of smoky green lentils, with real baby carrots (the tiny carrot is less than
an inch long, and the green tops add another inch or so), roasted peppers, and wilted greens. All of
the plates are relatively delicate, that is to say small, but by the end of the meal, you will have had
your fill.
The 'Line Caught Wahoo Seviche' comes next, the white fish draped over heirloom tomato slices of
varying purple, yellow, green, and red hues, and surrounded by a chocolatey-looking coulis, that is
actually made from sapote. It is pristine, and its radish mignonette is a crunchy, slightly peppery,
counterpoint.
The fifth course, introduced by Chef Fistrovich, is a Cardoon Potato Ravioli, with sea urchin nage,
and carrot rosemary 'froth'. “Back in Italy we would cook all day, to make a fish fume, braised at
least eight hours, add the cognac, reduce the liquid. Here, on the farm we roast it in the oven,” he
explains. The cardoon is a rarely seen relative of the artichoke, and its mild bitter taste adds another
dimension to the sea urchin nage (normally poached and then served in the reduced cooking broth).
Some just-picked rosemary has been used in its carrot rosemary 'froth', and there are also some
fennel leaves on the plate. The ravioli themselves are al dente, and and each bite is lusty with
flavors of the sea, and of the earth.
My friendly tablemates are amazed. “I cook six nights a week,” says Laurie Borden, a former chef
from New Jersey, who drove down to Homestead from Boca Raton. “There is a disappointment
factor in so many restaurants I go to. There is something about this whole experience that almost
makes the food taste better...the energy?” Laura Azzolino and husband Rich, whose family owns
the landmark North Beach, San Francisco, restaurant Caesar's, came directly to the farm after
checking in at their hotel, straight from a six-hour flight. “It's all so wonderful. You can really
taste the difference organic makes,” she says, while the table begins devouring pastry chef Frederic
Monnet's Red Lady Papaya Bar. A square tier of papaya from the farm, wrapped inside is a key
lime/banana coconut mousse, with a white coconut emulsion, banana compote, and caramelized
bananas (the mini-bananas are ripening right there in the gazebo), alongside some 'Soli' organic ice
cream, and a miniature flourless chocolate cake, topped by a quinoa tuile (crispy cookie). Chef
Monnet, called “one of the best pastry chefs in Miami,” by Chef Fistrovich, has stolen the show.
There is applause, and then wonder. The mystical farm has grown dark, the sacred bonfire has been
lit, and the stars are abundant. And it's just another meal in Paradise.
SIDEBAR
The next dinner, on March 9th is sold out. Chef Michael Schwartz says that, at this dinner, he and
Chefs Giancarla and Mark will “turn the whole format upside down. We'll build a fire and roast
whole fish, so that every table will have a big whole fish on the table, and then we'll all cook up
some sides. I don't know how we'll cook the fish, yet, but we're all old friends, so it will definitely
be a lot of fun.”

March 23rd dinner is scheduled to feature Chef Govind Armstrong from Table 8, Casa Tua's Sergio
Sigala, Timo's Tim Andriola, and Sean Brasel from Touch

For more info, including featured chefs for April's events, and to make reservations, go to
ParadiseFarms.net
Dinner in Paradise, which includes hors d' oeuvres, aperitif, dinner with wine pairings, and coffee
and tea, is $150 per person. Advance reservations required (website takes all major credit cards).
The drive from Miami to the farm is about an hour.
For more info on TREEmendous Miami go to TREEmendousMiami.org