Chef forecasts a dramatic dinner for Farm to Fork fundraiser

Boehm hopes that patrons will take away more than the memory of a great meal in an unusual setting.

Posted 12:56 p.m. Sep 10, 2018 — Updated 4:06 p.m. Oct 25, 2018

Cheryl-Anne Kast, for Out

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Jacob Boehm appreciates the inherent drama of planning a menu around hyper-local ingredients. Like a conductor awaiting the mood of a temperamental diva, Boehm worries if it will rain too much or too little, and he wonders whether the sun will shine or the harsh winds will howl.

Boehm is the owner of Snap Pea Underground & Catering in Chapel Hill.

These and other conditions beyond his control will play a big role in determining what he’ll serve guests attending his lavish Snap Pea Underground pop-up dinners.

“I never write a menu until the week of an event,” says Boehm, who is considering his options for the multi-course feast he’ll serve to Farm to Fork patrons from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Nov. 4 at a Triangle location that will be revealed about 48 hours before showtime. “It all depends on what’s available at that moment.”

The Snap Pea dinner is one in a series of three Farm to Fork fundraising events that benefit farmer training programs at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) and the Breeze Farm Enterprise Incubator in Orange County.

The “produce-forward” meal will feature ingredients sourced from a dozen or more local, sustainable farms - some of which are run by CEFS-trained farmers or farmers who got their start at Breeze Farm.

While many of Boehm’s pop-up dinners are BYOB, this one includes paired beverages from the Haw River Wine Man of Burlington, Honeygirl Meadery and Fullsteam Brewery, both of Durham, and TOPO Organic Spirits of Chapel Hill.

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In addition to the theatrical whims of nature, Boehm builds each of his pop-up events around a secret theme, which often is related to the space in which the dinner is presented. His last undertaking in August was his most ambitious: Staged in The Fruit, a former chiller warehouse in Durham once used to hold fruit and vegetables transported by train, Boehm presented “The Banquet,” a foodie take on “MacBeth,” in collaboration with director Akiva Fox of Bulldog Ensemble Theatre.

The production, which ran for five sold-out nights, earned high praise from Indy Week. While Hamlet observed “the play’s the thing,” critic Byron Woods found the food-driven concept delicious: “[W]e've never seen anything like this, in which food so fully infiltrates a production it even comments critically upon the action.”

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Boehm isn’t promising that level of drama for Farm to Fork, but diners can count on artfully crafted dishes that will not only fill their bellies but also open their eyes to the considerable effort it took for farmers to grow the ingredients.

“More than anything, it will be a celebration of the people who are out there, day in and day out, doing yeoman’s work to grow great food,” Boehm says. “It’s pretty cool that the CEFS and Breeze programs have developed farmers that I buy from every week. It’s a testament to how important this really is.”

Boehm hopes that patrons will take away more than the memory of a great meal in an unusual setting.

“I really encourage people to go out and support local growers,” he says. “They have carried Snap Pea from its infancy to what it is today, and it’s what makes the Farm to Fork Picnic so spectacular. I’m happy to have this platform thank the people who work so hard to feed our community.”