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Island to Table returns to Patchogue Village on July 30, 2017, for another outdoor dining experience that features local chefs using locally sourced ingredients, paired with Long Island beer and wine.
The Patchogue Village Board in February approved closing a strip of Terry Street in front of ArtsSpace Lofts to traffic from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. for the special night.
That time allows for the set up, service and breakdown for Island to Table.
The first Island to Table dinner drew 101 diners to Patchogue on Sunday, July 31, 2016, for a cocktail hour and six-course meal that featured dishes conceived, prepared and cooked by Patchogue area chefs.
That inaugural event was held within the New Village at Patchogue apartment complex campus.
It raised $9,211 for the Homegrown Change nonprofit group, and was co-sponsored by the Greater Patchogue Foundation, the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce’s nonprofit arm.
Click here for photos from 2016’s Island to Table by Benny Migliorino.
“It was a logical connection to have local chefs, using local products, to help fund gardening projects around the area,” HomeGrown Change founder Eva Rodriguez-Greguski told the village board before its vote on Feb. 27.
She also explained that Terry Street would allow for the event to grow to about 120-125 people, with plenty of room for staging and service.
“Last year we used some empty retail space at New Village for staging but that’s filling up, and it’s no guaranteed it will be available,” she said.
That $9,211 raised was good enough to make Island to Table the largest fundraiser the Greater Patchogue Foundation had ever been involved with, Rodriguez-Greguski also reported.
“So I was very proud to hear that,” she said.
The funds are being used to establish a pollinator garden and raised vegetable beds behind the Carnegie Library in Patchogue Village. There will also be interior “aerogardens” to will make gardening possible during the winter months.
HomeGrown Change has also been teaching classes at YouthBuild Long Island (United Way) and is working with the North Bellport Community Garden.
Plans are under way for an herb garden in the village’s Roe Walkway — the group is working with the Village of Patchogue — and a larger school garden project at Medford Elementary School.
In a separate interview, the chamber’s executive director, David Kennedy, called Island to Table “something special I had never experienced before.”
“It was a classy event, but community oriented,” he said. “Most of the people I didn’t know, but you really felt like you were with friends and family all night.”
“And of course the chefs went all out and put together a real special meal you wouldn’t be able to experience anywhere else if you just went to a restaurant,” he added.
“It’s a great cause and i’m looking forward to helping them out any way we can.”
Top photo: Chef Lauren Lombardi of Lombardi’s on the Bay prepares the dessert for 2016’s inaugural Island to Table outdoor dining experience at New Village.
