The Orlando Sentinel\u2019s 150th Anniversary event series continues with its tastiest panel yet as local farmers and chefs discuss the ins and outs of farm-to-table while guests enjoy light bites.<\/p>\n
The panel, taking place on Nov. 11 at The Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House<\/a> and Culinary Garden, will be moderated by Orlando Sentinel multimedia food reporter Amy Drew Thompson, with a brief introduction by chef Kevin Fonzo of La Tavola, who will explain The Kitchen House\u2019s history and mission.<\/p>\n The Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House and Culinary Garden is located at 26 E. King St. in Orlando\u2019s College Park neighborhood.<\/p>\n Doors open at 5:30 p.m., panel begins at 6 p.m., followed by a Q&A. Tickets are $12 and seating is limited. You can purchase your ticket at OrlandoSentinel.com\/rsvp<\/p>\n The panel<\/p>\n Self-taught, first-generation farmer Mike Garcia is the owner and operator of Everoak Farm in Orlando. Garcia transitioned from a career in culinary arts and more than 10 years in hospitality to pursue regenerative agriculture full time.<\/p>\n His work focuses on agroecology, bio-intensive market gardening, agroforestry, pasture-raised poultry and composting. Through Everoak Farm, education and community partnerships, Garcia is committed to building resilient food systems that regenerate the land while nourishing people.<\/p>\n Bernadette Girvin and her husband, Charlie, along with their two children, have been building 4 Girvins Farm<\/a> in Tavares for some time now \u2014 hence the name.<\/p>\n What began with a 5-acre parcel, 11 laying hens and 30 meat birds has since grown into an 18-acre farm that spans their home property and multiple land leases. It produces pasture-raised eggs (the laying flock now approaches 1,000 hens), poultry and pork, alongside a small market garden.<\/p>\n \u201cThe animals are at the heart of why I farm,\u201d she says. \u201cCaring for them, learning their needs and seeing them thrive is the work I love most.<\/p>\n Leah Cordova is the chef at Quicksand Bar \u00e0 Vin<\/a>, a natural wine bar in Orlando.<\/p>\n She began her culinary career in New York City in 2019 before moving back home to work for Hinckley\u2019s Fancy Meats, where she learned nose-to-tail cookery. She later created a vegetable pop-up, Crocodile Dining, at Everoak Farm in 2021.<\/p>\n Cordova\u2019s menus are steeped in local agriculture, Orlando\u2019s international food scene, and the ethos of low-intervention winemaking. Her ice cream concept, Sweet Thyme, which features spice-studded vegetal flavors, launched at Quicksand in 2025.<\/p>\n Best Splurge: 2026 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards<\/a><\/p>\n Bruno Fonseca is the executive chef of Foreigner Restaurant<\/a> in Orlando and Bruno\u2019s Oysters<\/a>, located inside Plant Street Market in Winter Garden.<\/p>\n Fonseca\u2019s own story, of growing up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, moving to the States and finding his way in different kitchens, is what led to the birth of Foreigner, a place where creativity, expansion, unpredictability and braving the unknown \u2014 seeing things through the eyes of a foreigner \u2014 is what he intends for his guests to encounter with his cooking.<\/p>\n Out in Plant Street, there\u2019s similar zhuzh, but a vibe that reflects Fonseca\u2019s interest in both oysters \u2014 and unpretentious dining. Local ingredients play a large role in both places.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Orlando Sentinel\u2019s 150th Anniversary event series continues with its tastiest panel yet as local farmers and chefs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442525,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[104,28,4451,2174,114,266,1335,139,141,140,53371,1976,687,1014,5961,109,76686,76687,106,2261],"class_list":["post-442524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-entertainment","tag-florida","tag-food-drink","tag-lake-county","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-orlando-sentinel-150","tag-osceola-county","tag-restaurants","tag-seminole-county","tag-sentinel-restaurants","tag-social","tag-social-business","tag-social-entertainment","tag-things-to-do","tag-volusia-county"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}