With produce and meat raised by a skilled Lebanese farmer, food prepared by an acclaimed Gambian chef and desserts crafted by a well-traveled pastry chef, this four-course farm dinner is sure to be a memorable evening. The event starts at 4 p.m. at Jacob Springs Farm (7602 Arapahoe Road in Boulder) and includes zero-proof beverages. Tickets, $95, are available online. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit local African American farmers; you can also make a donation without purchasing a ticket through the same link.
Originally from Gambia, Modou Jaiteh has worked in a number of kitchens in New Orleans and New York. He launched his restaurant Jacaranda in Boulder in 2019 after spending time in the kitchen at Arcana. Since then, he's relocated to Savannah, Georgia, and now runs Jacaranda as a catering business that highlights both West African cuisine and the Americanized African dishes that are commonly found throughout the Southern part of the United States.
Modou Jaiteh is returning to Colorado for this event.
Cosby Creative
Jaiteh is known for his take on options like jollof rice, peanut butter stew and lamb curry with homemade roti. In Colorado, dishes like these tend to require imported ingredients that lose flavor through premature harvest, international shipping and storage. However, through connections with Andre Houssney, the proprietor of Jacob Springs Farm, and other farmers of color, Jaiteh will be able to source ingredients locally for this event, creating a menu that is filled with dishes that use local products to tell stories of cultural significance.
Jacob Springs Farm is located in one of the more scenic areas of east Boulder. Lush green fields and huge cottonwoods dot the landscape where the farm has operated for over thirteen years. On his twentieth attempt at applying for a land lease in Boulder County, Houssney became the first BIPOC leaseholder in the county. Originally from Beirut, Lebanon, he has been farming since he was ten years old and has traveled the globe in an advisory role, teaching techniques in organic agriculture.
“People of color make up a majority of the working bodies in agriculture. However, white people own 98 percent of all farmland," he notes.
Hussney spent some time in Africa advising communities on organic agriculture techniques, but, he adds, “I was there as a young man teaching composting. I learned much more than I was able to teach. Just by watching their existing techniques, there were thousands of years of farming knowledge apparent in the way they cultivated the land.” Since Hussney became a leaseholder in Boulder County, many other BIPOC leaseholders have begun cultivating the land.
Also contributing to the meal is pastry chef Lilliana Myers, who has sixteen years of experience. In 2022, she won a Star Chefs award for Rising Star Pastry Chef in Denver. She has worked at Bouchon Bakery and Bar Boulud in New York, as well as Auberge la Fenière in France, and eventually found her way to Boulder, where she has run top-notch pastry programs for many well-known restaurants in the city. For the Jacob Springs dinner, she will be highlighting some of the best local produce for the dessert course.
The menu is subject to change based on what products are available, but here's an outline of what to expect:
First course:
Gem lettuce, Jacob Springs cucumber, heirloom tomato, shaved red onion, potato crispies
Second course:
Black-eyed peas, cassava, tomato, hint of habanero
Third course:
Lamb, carrot, eggplant, peanut butter, rice
Dessert:
Fresh seasonal berries, foraged fruits, “crazy good” grain base
Zero-proof concoctions:
Black tea, lemongrass, clove, milk, honey
Hibiscus, ginger, mint
