This Week in Gluttony

DIFFA Burgers & Burgundy with John Tesar tops best food and drink events in Dallas

This Week in Gluttony is front-loaded with wine dinners. Four-course wine dinners to be exact, because it’s important to have three square meals a day, and the number four is a perfect square and the square root of a perfect square and there are four sides to a square. Wake up, sheeple, the answer is right under your noses.

There’s also the Greek Food Festival, a lesson on how to make raw cheesecake (on purpose), and John Tesar and company creating burgers for DIFFA. For $20 extra, Tesar will yell at you after dessert.

Wednesday, September 25

Asador’s Fall Harvest Dinner
Chefs Dean James Max and Brad Phillips host a four-course dinner at Asador beginning at 6:30 pm. Dishes include scallop ceviche with tostones, and house-smoked spare ribs with Kimchi barbecue sauce and grilled Texas peach. Wine and cocktail pairings are featured. Reservations are $50 and can be made at 214-267-4815.

Thursday, September 26

Clayhouse Vineyard Wine Dinner at the Landmark
The Landmark Restaurant at the Warwick Melrose hotel invites Clayhouse Vineyard for a four-course wine dinner beginning with a reception at 6:30 pm. Pairings include seared ahi tuna with arugula, lychee vinaigrette and kiwi with 2011 Clayhouse Adobe White, and veal osso buco with red wine reduction, smashed potatoes and green beans with 2010 Clayhouse Syrah. Reservations are $85 and can be made at 214-224-3152.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards Wine Dinner at Pappas Bros.
Bill Phelps of Joseph Phelps Vineyards hosts a four-course wine dinner at Pappas Bros. beginning at 7 pm. Pairings include warm duck terrine with foie gras, salad of wild mushrooms and vinaigrette with 2010 Joseph Phelps Pastorale Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2010 Joseph Phelps Quarter Moon Vineyard Pinot Noir. The main pairing is roasted dry-aged Prime strip loin with sauce zingara, mousseline potatoes and broccolini with 2005 Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Insignia and 2001 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. Reservations are $195 and can be made at 214-366-2000.

Friday, September 27

2013 Greek Food Festival of Dallas
The Greek Food Festival of Dallas, hosted by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, lets you enjoy all your favorite Greek foods, discover new ones and take part in a number of other Greek traditions. There are no imposters here — food comes directly from the festival kitchen, supported by live music, dance, a kids area and a marketplace with a wide range of Greek wares. You can also tour the church and visit the Greek Cultural Center and church bookstore. Tickets are $6 for 13 and up.

Sunday, September 29

Be Raw Food Cheesecake Class
Be Raw Food and Juice hosts a Raw Food 101 class highlighting cheesecake from 5 to 7 pm. The class features discussion on science and benefits of a raw food lifestyle plus demonstrations for Be Raw’s chocolate and berry cheesecakes. Spots are $50 and include cheesecake tastings. RSVP at paula@BeRawFoodandJuice.com.

DIFFA/Dallas presents Burgers & Burgundy with John Tesar
Join chef John Tesar and his celebrity chefs at the home of Bill and Karen Seanor at 4 pm for the fifth annual Burgers & Burgundy event benefiting the Dallas Chapter of DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS). Each chef has been tasked with the challenge to serve up the best burger sliders and complement them with a Burgundy. Tickets are $100 or $150 for VIP, which includes a private bar, butler service and an exclusive seating area.

DIFFA's Burgers & Burgundy on September 29 features sliders made by John Tesar and his celebrity chefs.

Photo by William Bichara

DIFFA's Burgers & Burgundy on September 29 features sliders made by John Tesar and his celebrity chefs.

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Farm News

Dallas farm-to-table champion Profound Farms closes produce operation

Profound

Profound Microfarms

A Dallas farm-to-table champion is pulling the plug: Profound Microfarms, the small farm in Lucas that provided locally-grown produce to chefs and the general public for nearly a decade, is shutting down its growing operation and discontinuing deliveries. Their final delivery and pickup day will be May 23.

According to cofounder Jeff Bednar, they were simply unable to keep the business afloat.

"It's always been tough for small farmers, and it's only getting harder," Bednar says. "I'd hate to count how many farmers and ranchers we've known in the last 10 years that have gone out of business. Honestly, I know very few farmers that could make it with out having off-farm income from a spouse or other sources."

Jeff and Lee Bednar first bought their 2.6-acre plot in Lucas in 2014, then spent three years learning hydroponic methods and building industry relationships. In May 2017, they began selling produce to Dallas-area chefs, helping to support DFW’s burgeoning farm-to-table restaurant scene, delivering to restaurants multiple times per week.

In 2018, Profound Foods received a USDA grant to create a local "food hub" — a business that helps small farmers grow by offering a combination of production, distribution, and marketing services. At their peak, by the end of 2019, they were serving 130 restaurants.

And then the pandemic arrived. They pivoted, expanding into retail sales in March 2020, offering weekly home delivery and pickup outpost options for home consumers.

Profound Microfarms lettuce Beautiful lettuces at Profound MicrofarmsProfound Microfarms

"Unfortunately, running a year-round food hub became tougher than we can sustain right now," he says. "It's disheartening we were not able to make it work after trying for 11 years. But we were able to raise our daughters the way we wanted to and we really had a great run. Profound impacted hundreds of Dallas chefs and thousands of families in our community and we'll continue to do that, just differently."

Over the years, Profound grew from harvesting greens to aggregating and delivering for other producers, then into community gathering spaces, commercial kitchens, and hands-on education.

"Profound has never been just a farm — it’s our commitment to connecting North Texans with local food, and that commitment will keep evolving even as the farm operations wind down," Bednar says.

So while the growing part has gone away, Profound will continue hosting cooking classes and other foodie events. In the interim, they'll also be listing their plants, hydroponic supplies, and greenhouses for sale.

Some of their stats:

Moved more than $4.5 million of truly local food into North Texas kitchens.
Sent 75 cents on every dollar to 185 farmers, ranchers, and producers in North Texas.
Delivered 34,000+ restaurant and home orders.
Donated over 90,000 lbs of fresh food to area charities and food banks.
Hosted dozens of interns and hundreds of volunteers for hands-on learning on our farm.
Helped over 22 companies launch food-based business in our incubator kitchen and hub.
Hosted tours for more than 15,000 people, schoolchildren, and aspiring farmers.

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