Staff Reports | Happenings & Events
More than 150 guests will gather for a family-style dinner Saturday, Nov. 7, as the Esplanade launches its inaugural Community Table to benefit St. Mary’s Food Bank.
The event at the Esplanade, 2501 E. Camelback Road in Phoenix, will feature a four-course menu prepared by James Beard-nominated chefs Roberto Centeno, Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin, with proceeds benefiting the food bank, according to a press release.
Mr. Centeno, owner of Espíritu, will collaborate with Mr. Hernandez and Ms. Holguin, the team behind Tacos Chiwas and Cocina Chiwas. The three chefs also are partners in Main Burger.
“The Esplanade has always been a place where Phoenix’s business community comes together and now with a renewed focus on creating exciting experiences with our food and beverage partners on the ground plane, we wanted to launch something that brings people to the table for a cause we all share: making sure our neighbors have access to food,” Esplanade ownership representative Robert Marino said. “St. Mary’s Food Bank was a natural partner. Bringing our tenants and neighbors together for a family-style meal in support of their work felt like the right way to honor that mission, and we hope this is the first of many Community Tables in the years to come.”
The event follows a $60 million renovation of the Esplanade that includes landscaping, shaded outdoor gathering areas and a two-story amenity building with wellness, dining and meeting spaces.
“As we enter the holiday season, we are so thankful to the Esplanade for selecting St. Mary’s as beneficiary of this inaugural Community Table event,” St. Mary’s Food Bank President and CEO Milt Liu said. “With so many of our neighbors struggling and so many families coming to the food bank for the first time for assistance, the support St. Mary’s receives from this event could not have come at a better time. Bringing people around one table to make sure others have food for their tables is a wonderful way to show that we are one as a community.”
The property is connected to Biltmore Fashion Park and includes restaurants FLINT by Baltaire, Camello, The Mercer, Hearsay, Perks and The Little Pickle.
“What makes this night exciting is that we get to step outside the walls of our restaurants and create something that only exists for one evening,” Mr. Centeno said. “Armando, Nadia and I each bring our own perspective to the table, and this gives us a chance to play with fire, flavor and technique in a completely different setting. We want guests to feel like they’re part of what’s happening – not just sitting down for dinner.”
FLINT by Baltaire, Camello, The Mercer and Hearsay will participate in the Community Table by providing a paired cocktail for different courses. The event also will include live-fire cooking, handmade tortillas, floral installations and live entertainment throughout the plaza.
Sponsors including Shamrock Foods Company, JLL, CBRE, Prologis, QXL Security, Clune Construction and Taft Law Firm have contributed $50,000 to the event. Organizers said the money will provide more than 250,000 meals through St. Mary’s Food Bank.
St. Mary’s provides food to families, children and seniors facing food insecurity throughout Arizona.
“As a local, family-owned company in the food industry and a new member of the Esplanade community, we’re thrilled to take part in this special culinary event,” Shamrock Foods Company President Devon McClelland said. “We’ve been partners with St. Mary’s Food Bank from its early days, and we are honored to support such an essential community resource.”
