ACT FAST! Tickets are on sale NOW for this year’s star-studded Chefs for Farmers “down home, no fuss” culinary festival November 2-5. (Wait till you see the list of famous U.S. chefs cooking at this!)

dean fearing works the crowd

jeff harris served his 1PD chicken (I wrote about it on the Hatch a couple of weeks ago)

The first weekend in November typically brings cooler weather to Dallas, but we know where things will still be hot, hot, hot. Iris McCallister and her merry band of elves will again deck out Lee Park with everything you need to enjoy a long day of wine, food, chefs, music, beer, photo ops and, we hope, sunshine.

As founder and chief organizer of Chefs for Farmers, McCallister presides over what has become the premier gourmet food and drinks event in Texas. With four full days of culinary events, wine tastings, celebrity dinners, street festivals and a greenbelt setting for a main event that can’t be topped, it’s nearly impossible to experience everything Chefs for Farmers has in the works this year. But you can try. Which means you’ll need to buy your tickets now for the November 2-5 festival. (Early Bird ticket prices are good through August 6, and the festival always sells out.)

More than 30 nationally recognized chefs (many of them James Beard Award nominees or winners) will be joining the Dallas culinary elite at the cooking events. Want to mingle with Nicole Brisson, Mario Batali’s top chef in Las Vegas? How about Top Chef Season 14 winner Brooke Williamson, Justin Burdett from Local Provisions in Asheville, Kelly English from Iris and Second Line in Memphis, or Sheldon Simeon from Maui? They’ll all be here. Maybe Shuai Wang from Short Grain in Charleston, Tyson Cole from Uchi in Austin, John Patterson from Fork in Philadelphia, or Michael Gulotta of MoPho in New Orleans? They’ll be at the Main Event on Sunday, November 5, too.

Knife steakhouse’s John Tesar is hosting a Top Chef Charleston dinner Thursday night (tickets here) that reunites all the alums from his Bravo TV show season in the kitchen for a blow-out dinner.

“Chefs For Farmers began as an intimate dinner on a farm, and it is exciting to see how it has evolved into a four-day event that attracts thousands of food lovers, positioning itself alongside well-established national festivals,” says McCallister. “We know that without our fabulous local farmers, menus wouldn’t have the same soul and finesse.

The Celebrity Cruises “Know Thy Farmer” dinner, hosted by Whole Foods Market, is a five course, farm-to-table dinner from notable Dallas chefs which will help reintroduce a newly renovated downtown hotel, The Adolphus. to Dallas.

On Saturday night, the Street Food Night Market will transform downtown’s Victory Park into a global marketplace of big-time chefs serving street food from stalls. Then on Sunday, it’s the Main Event at Lee Park, where thousands will eat, drink and be very merry (even the 50 chefs who are cooking and serving).

Some of the proceeds raised at CFF are earmarked to help local farms and community organizations. Participating chefs and farms are given stipends to create locally sourced dishes for the festival and start sustainable relationships. Funds raised from an auction at the “Know Thy Farmer” dinner will directly benefit the farming community. CFF helps VNA Meals on Wheels through an annual Power of Pie campaign, where guests pay $25 and receive a Thanksgiving pumpkin or pecan pie made by top local chefs – and VNA Meals on Wheels gets a big cut of the money.