WHAT IS CHEFS FOR FARMERS?

Chefs For Farmers (CFF) is a food and wine festival that showcases the talents of Texas’ best chefs and food artisans while celebrating the farmers that make great food possible. In one mouth-watering, libation-filled festival, we pay tribute to each CFF host city (Houston and Dallas) as an emerging culinary destination through incredible events and custom programming that highlight the entire culinary ecosystem in Texas and beyond. Since its inception in 2010, CFF has grown from an intimate farm-to-table dinner in Dallas to one of the largest food and wine events in Texas. As good food citizens of the world, we balance our dedication to sustainability, eco-consciousness, and charity with our greatest goal: putting on the best food festival Texas has ever seen!

HOW WE SUPPORT FARMERS:

At our core, our mission is to bring our local community together in efforts to create a strong, local food ecosystem. We aim to create connections before, during, and after the festival that in turn will strengthen our local food economy. 

Since that first dinner back in 2010, our mission has been to organically connect restaurants and chefs with local family-owned farms. Each participating restaurant is partnered with a local farm, using that farm’s ingredients for their featured dish at the festival. We provide each chef with an ingredient stipend to cover costs, which directly supports their partner farm.

Year after year, the festival provides both chefs and farmers a platform to form cohesive partnerships  that can be leveraged well beyond the festival itself. And it works; many of our participating chefs come back to their partner farms to source locally grown ingredients for their restaurant menus. 

We hope the relationships fostered each year will continue to strengthen our local food economy now and in the future.

WHAT ARE THE 2024 DATES OF CHEFS FOR FARMERS?

HOUSTON: 

Saturday, September 28th & Sunday, September 29th, 2024
DALLAS: 

Friday, November 1st – Sunday, November 3rd   2024

WHERE ARE CHEFS FOR FARMERS EVENTS LOCATED?

HOUSTON:
CFF Houston will be hosted at Autry Park, 3711 Autry Park Drive, Houston, TX 77019

DALLAS MAIN EVENT:
CFF Dallas events are held in various locations throughout the greater Dallas area. The festival’s signature Main Event on Sunday, November 3rd will be returning to Old City Park, 1515 S Harwood St, Dallas, TX 75215 

Please defer to event specific pages for venue details on  other CFF events.

DOES THE FESTIVAL BENEFIT ANY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS?

Yes! Core to our mission as a part of the Texas food community is to support local nonprofits in each city.

HOUSTON:

In 2024, CFF Houston will be collaborating with Houston Food Bank  and Urban Harvest as our official charity partners. CFF contributions will support Houston Food Bank’s efforts in combating hunger in the Houston area and Urban Harvest’s sustainable community gardens and farms. 

DALLAS:
This year, CFF Dallas’s charity beneficiary is the Seed Project Foundation (SPF). SPF funds educational, agricultural, and community initiatives that support sustainability. Sustainability is a social challenge that improves the current quality of life without compromising future generations. The Foundation was established on the premise that funding sustainable ideas today will support ecological and social balance in the future. Providing seed money for causes that enhance the principles of sustainability is a large part of our mission.  

ARE ALL CFF EVENTS 21+?

Yes, all CFF events are 21 and older.  A Valid ID is required for admission to all events. If event security cannot verify your age, you will not be admitted into the event. Anyone under the age of 21 will be refused entry and tickets will not be refunded.

CAN I BRING MY CHILD?

All CFF events are 21 and older. No children or infants (even in strollers or carriers) are allowed to attend any festival event. 

ARE PETS ALLOWED AT ANY CFF EVENTS?

While we love your furry friends, no pets are allowed at any CFF event. This does NOT include emotional support animals, therapy animals, or companion animals. Only service animals are permitted. Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. 

All service animals must remain by the handler’s side at all times and must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices. In that case, the individual must maintain control of the animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls. 

Anyone bringing a service animal will be responsible for and liable for any damage or injury the animal causes. 

For more information, please refer to the U.S. Department of Justice.

WHAT IF I HAVE SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS?

If you are attending an in-restaurant CFF dinner and have food allergies or dietary restrictions, please email info@teama21.com. The chefs at these events will do their best to accommodate special dietary needs, but we emphasize this is by request only. All requests must be received two weeks prior to the festival to ensure there’s enough time to prepare.

While chefs provide a variety of food offerings at our events, all major tasting events are unable to accommodate special dietary needs or food allergies.

TICKETS & EVENTS:

WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE FOR CFF EVENTS?

Everything you need for a good time! Festival tickets are all-inclusive. Once you have purchased your tickets, there are no additional charges for food, drinks, or gratuity at any CFF event.

HOW DO I RECEIVE MY TICKETS?

Upon purchase, the purchaser will receive a confirmation email with their receipt and the electronic ticket(s) from our ticketing platform, Prekindle.

If you do not receive your tickets within 15 minutes, please check your spam folder or email Tickets@prekindle.com.

WILL EVENTS SELL OUT?

Most likely. There is a set capacity for each event and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. We cannot expand the capacity of any event to accommodate additional guests.

HOW DO I ACCESS MY MOBILE TICKETS?

You will get a confirmation email upon purchase. From there, you can click the Your Tickets link and access print-at-home or mobile tickets, plus you can add them to your Apple Wallet.

CAN I ENTER WITH ANY CFF EVENT WITH A MOBILE TICKET?

Yes, you can enter any CFF event with a mobile ticket.

ARE TICKETS REFUNDABLE?

All tickets are non-refundable, and ticket sales are final.

CAN I SWITCH TICKETS FOR ANOTHER EVENT?

No. Ticket sales are final and cannot be exchanged.

CAN I BUY TICKETS AT THE DOOR?

Tickets cannot be purchased at the door at any Chefs for Farmers event. Events do sell out quickly, so we encourage you to purchase your tickets early!

DOES AN EVENT GET CANCELED WITH BAD WEATHER?

While some of our events are indoors, those that are outdoors will happen rain or shine! All tickets are non-refundable.

IS THERE A SPECIAL TICKET PRICE FOR PEOPLE WHO DO NOT DRINK ALCOHOL?

No, there is not a discount for people who do not drink alcohol. There will be a variety of non-alcoholic beverage offerings available at every official festival event.

IS THERE A DRESS CODE FOR THE EVENT?

There is no enforced dress code; however, we do ask you to dress in keeping with the nature of the event venue. Please check the weather and dress appropriately as some events may be outdoors.

No large bags or backpacks will be permitted at the events.

IS THERE PARKING AT THE EVENT?

The parking on site is extremely limited, so rideshare is strongly recommended. Parking guards will direct guests to the lot. Addresses for the parking lots are 1605 South Saint Paul. Overflow parking is located at 1621 South Saint Paul.

Please drink responsibly. Rideshare is encouraged. Our festival’s official partnership with Alto offers our guests discounted rides to and from the festival. Enter code CFFDAL24 under Promotions in the Profile tab in the Alto app. 

Safe Ride America is a nonprofit organization that will provide transportation for free if necessary. Call (404) 888‐0887 to use this service.

GETTING INVOLVED

HOW CAN I HELP SUPPORT LOCAL FARMS & RESTAURANTS YEAR-ROUND?

Our local food industry needs your help. Try to buy and eat local whenever possible, to ensure more of your money goes to the farms and restaurants who need it most. As for incorporating more local food and produce into your home cooking, our Dallas Farmers Market, Good Local Markets, Bonton Farms, and Profound Foods are great places to start.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BECOMING A SPONSOR?

For all sponsorship opportunities, please reach out to Anthony Gordon at  Anthony@teama21.com.

HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A PARTICIPATING FARM?

For more details on getting involved as a participating farm, please email Celina Neville at celina@teama21.com.  

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT BECOMING A PARTICIPATING CHEF/RESTAURANT?

For more details on getting involved as a participating chef/restaurant, please email Calen Santos at Calen@teama21.com.

HOW CAN I VOLUNTEER?

To learn more and sign up for Chefs For Farmers volunteer opportunities, please click here.

CAN PRESS ATTEND EVENTS?

For all media inquiries for CFF Houston, please email  Lisa Gochman at Lisa@lisagochman.com

For all media inquiries for CFF Dallas, please email PLUG PR at XXXX

SAFETY FIRST:

WHAT ITEMS ARE PROHIBITED TO BRING TO AN CFF EVENT?

The following items are  PROHIBITED.

• Firearms, explosives, and weapons of any kind (including pocket knives, pepper spray, fireworks, etc.)
• Outside food or beverage (including alcohol) of any kind
• Illegal and illicit substances of any kind; drugs or drug paraphernalia
• Chairs, blankets, and lawn umbrellas
• Noise making devices: air horns, drums, whistles
• Drones or any other remote flying device
• Pets (except service animals)
• Unauthorized/unlicensed vendors are not allowed. No unauthorized solicitation and materials including handbills, flyers, stickers, beach balls, giveaways, samples, etc.

WHAT DO I DO IF I’VE HAD TOO MUCH TO DRINK?

Please be responsible. There are a number of transportation options if your ability to drive is impaired.

Safe Ride America (404) 888‐0887 *Safe Ride America is a nonprofit organization and will provide transportation for free if necessary.

Utilize rideshare services such as UBER, LYFT and Alto.

TRAVEL

WHICH AIRPORT SHOULD I FLY INTO FOR CFF?

HOUSTON: Public transportation to Houston is available to and from George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) and Ellington Airport/Houston Spaceport (EFD).  We suggest picking the airport that is most convenient for you. 

DALLAS: Our Dallas airports include Dallas Love Field (DAL) and Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW). Both are located about 30 minutes from most Chefs For Farmers event locations.

HOW CAN I STAY IN THE KNOW ON ALL THINGS CFF?

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