'Return to Earth Dinner' spotlights produce from Geauga County: Restaurant Row

FARM TO TABLE TO ALE . . .

Chef Kimberly McCune Gibson takes "local" seriously.

Raised in Auburn Township, where she attended Auburn Career Center, the daughter of a beekeeper received enough scholarship support from local organizations to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Returning to Northeast Ohio, the professional caterer (she runs Vine and Dine Catering ) says she wants to "give back."

"I feel as a chef, it's our job to be ambassadors for independent farmers, growers and even restaurants -- and to educate guests by providing them foods that are available locally, helping them understand what's in their food and the resources they can tap," McCune Gibson says. "My whole thing is championing the pasture-to-plate cause, and how that animal gave its life for you -- so enjoy it, and appreciate it."

On Friday, Aug. 19, she pays tribute to her Geauga County agricultural roots with a "Return to Earth Dinner" at Meadowlane Farms in Chardon.

Everything she prepares will include ingredients drawn from within a 50-mile radius of Geauga County. Her seven-course meal will feature longhorn steer rossini, thinly sliced beef over potato galettes, with roasted Killibuck Valley mushrooms. At the event, she'll also release her first microbrewed beverage, ReHive Ale (think "revival"). The beer will be carried at Whole Foods Market in September.

The event is a production of Emerging Chefs , a Cleveland-based firm that stages one-of-a-kind events built around up-and-coming chefs in out-of-the-ordinary venues. (Read a bit more about them below.)

Return to Earth Dinner: 7-10 p.m. Friday, Aug.19 at Meadowlane Farms, 11339 Butternut Road, Chardon (online at meadowlanefarms.cc). Tickets are $65 (plus handling) and available online at emergingchefs.com

CADILLAC OF CHEFS . . .