Growing Gardens is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that teaches gardening skills, strengthens communities, and builds organic vegetable gardens in homes, schools and correctional facilities across Oregon. The Growing Garden teams support children, adults, inmates and families with garden-based education, hand-on learning opportunities, garden beds, seeds, mentoring, and employment. They work with people who have limited access to safe and nutritious food, and partner with them to become healthier, more physically active and connected with their neighbors-thereby contributing to stronger, more sustainable and vibrant communities. 17 years ago Growing Gardens launched the Chef in My Garden dinner series as an annual summer fundraiser. Chef in My Garden dinners are the perfect place to enjoy a fantastic multi-course meal, learn about the work at Growing Gardens and support this impactful organization. Tige and Peggy Harris’s Cornelius garden features a gorgeous English country-style perennial border. The 1880’s farmhouse and original barn are surrounded by fruit trees and a large vegetable garden, while Suffolk sheep and thoroughbred horses keep the pastures trimmed. This makes for a classic setting for Maya Lovelace’s Mae that channels her grandmother’s southern Appalachian cooking and hospitality through Maya’s culinary training and the bounty of the Pacific Northwest. Portland Monthly says she’s created a “must-eat Portland experience” and named Mae one of its best new restaurants of 2016. Lovelace was also a 2017 semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year and will be soon opening Yonder, which will specialize in her delicious fried chicken and beyond the bird, a rotating menu of mains including fried catfish, vegetarian-friendly cornmeal-fried oyster mushrooms and a ton of different sides, some permanent, some seasonal, including biscuits, mac and cheese and collard greens. Modifications politely declined. If you have a severe food allergy, please contact [email protected]. *Wine pairings and a signature cocktail are included in the ticket price* All dinners are held rain or shine. For more information, please visit the Growing Gardens website: www.growing-gardens.org/