Chef Chris Bianco Headlines Spring Fling “Farmraiser” At San Tan’s RhibaFarms

Rather than bring the farm to their tables, six local chefs and a craft brewer are bringing the tables to the farm. James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Bianco headlines a fundraising dinner on Saturday, May 19 in support of RhibaFarms. Joining Bianco are Jason McGrath, Craig Plevack of Fire & Foraged, Sasha Raj of 24 Carrots, David Traina of Liberty Market, and Micah Wyzlic of Phoenix City Grille. Each course will be paired with brews from The Shop Beer Co.

The 3.3-acre San Tan Valley farm’s Food Rescue program fuels the desert soil to grow amazing products people don’t always associate with the climate. RhibaFarms provides the chefs and their restaurants with produce, wheatgrass, microgreens, mushrooms, eggs, and flowers for the tables. In a true regenerative form of farming, the brewery also uses RhibaFarms ingredients for several of its brews and RhibaFarms uses The Shop’s spent grains for compost.

Guests will get to tour the farm for a first-hand look at just how much food a small urban farm can produce for the community, then sit at tables amongst the vegetable fields. Proceeds of the dinner will go toward additional infrastructure like greenhouses, aquaponics, mushroom boxes, worm and insect bins.

Chefs are creating dishes highlighting ingredients provided by RhibaFarms like an all-Arizona sourced risotto entrée from Chef Bianco that includes Sonoran White Wheat with blue oyster mushrooms and smoked tri-color beets with pickled RhibaFarm vegetables from Chef Wyzlic. The Shop is also brewing beers like a grapefruit sour and a red raspberry and currant fruit beer that will incorporate ingredients from the farm.

Guests are reminded the location is a working farm with no paved paths. With warm weather almost a certainty, people are encouraged to take the 60s and 70s Spring Fling theme to heart with tie-dye and flower child attire. The farm also asks guests to bring a flashlight and dinner plate for a uniquely Bohemian, vegetarian-based, family-style dinner. The courses will be paired with craft beer. Non-alcoholic beverages and simple wine options will be available as alternatives.

In addition to the dinner, there will also be a blind auction fundraiser where private dinners from the chefs and other goodies are up for grabs. Seating is limited. Tickets for the RhibaFarms Spring Fling are available online at RhibaFarms.com/collections