JACKSON, Miss. - On June 15 at the Mississippi Museum of Art’s Palette Café, it’s not just farm to table; it’s farmer to table. As part of this month’s After Hours event, held every third Thursday, the Museum and Executive Chef and Culinary Curator Nick Wallace are partnering with Up in Farms Food Hub for a celebratory menu, showcasing the best of Mississippi ingredients, sourced by the entrepreneurial farmers who are helping redefine food access and ownership in the state. Also being celebrated is the literal birthday of Chef Nick Wallace, and the ribbon-cutting of the Up in Farms Food Hub in Jackson.
During the Museum’s After Hours programming, visitors can shop a pop-up growers’ market curated by Up in Farms, and sign up for the Up in Farms’ Farm Pack to receive a supply of fresh produce from farmers across Mississippi. The specialty menu, created by Chef Nick Wallace as part of his monthly ‘sipp Sourced series, will be served Thursday, June 15, to Saturday, June 17, with daily lunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., and dinner served June 15 only, during After Hours programming, from 5:30 p.m. until.
In addition to the ‘sipp Sourced event June 15, programming will include the public debut of artist Rory Roark, a self-taught artist who unlocked his creative expression through a fusion of handmade craftsmanship and digital design. His sculptures – constructed primarily from rolled tubes of humble paper board – explore the relationship between technological precision and human imperfection. At dusk, an outdoor screening of “Bonnie and Clyde” will commence on the C-Spire Stage.
Also on June 15, Chef Wallace inaugurates the Museum Kitchen Chef's Table, offering special dinner services on third Thursdays inside his culinary art studio (in addition to the normal third Thursday dinner service in The Palette Café). Diners interact with Chef Wallace while he cooks and learn about his Mississippi farm roots, his approach to great ingredients, and his visions for what food and creativity can do for the state. Space for Chef’s Table services is very limited. Reservations are $25 per person (pre-tax) and include a four-course tasting menu and non-alcoholic beverages. Reservations can be made by contacting Shelley Yates at syates@msmuseumart.org. (Dinner seating in The Palette café is first-come-first-serve and does not require reservation.) Participating farms and farmers: Country Girl Creamery
Booker T. Brent Foot Print Farms Larry Jamison Sweet & Sauer
Full Schedule of events: ART 5:30 p.m. - until: Man and Machine pop up exhibition 6 p.m. - A Closer Look art talk with Bebe Wolfe Until 8 p.m.: Galleries open late, including The Wolfe Family Legacy FOOD and DRINK 5:30 p.m. - until: ‘sipp Sourced with Chef Nick Wallace pop up dining - "Born to Farm" (in partnership with Up in Farms Food Hub) 5:30 p.m. - until: Cash Bar PLAY 6 - 7:15 p.m.: Live music; Bluegrass with Bill Ellison until 8 p.m.: Shopping in The Museum Store dusk: Screen on the Green with Crossroads Film Society – “Bonnie and Clyde” About ‘sipp Sourced: Each month, for a limited time, Culinary Curator and Executive Chef Nick Wallace of the Mississippi Museum of Art creates a three-day pop up menu highlighting product from Mississippi purveyors. These menus are inspired by seasonal ingredients and rooted in Mississippi artistic and culinary stories and traditions ‘sipp Sourced is sponsored by Capital City Beverages. About Up in Farms Food Hub: Up in Farms Food Hub is located in an historic produce distribution building at the site of the former Farmers Market on Woodrow Wilson Boulevard in Jackson. Up in Farms coordinates production schedules with farmers based upon the demand by regional buyers, such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and commercial distributors. Up in Farms helps Mississippi’s small- and medium-sized farms meet the standards of commercial buyers, plan and operate profitable businesses, and satisfy emerging federal and state standards for food safety and security.
Up in Farms also provides support and training necessary to deliver high-quality products on time and at a sustainable price. Additionally, the hub aggregates produce directly from farmers in Mississippi, to its warehouse in Jackson. The warehouse is designed to wash, grade, pack, cool, and store fresh produce - activities that can be prohibitively expensive for many individual farms.
About After Hours:
Every third Thursday, the Museum hosts After Hours, with doors open after hours to partner with and embrace Mississippi's creative community. These family-friendly events feature one-night pop up exhibitions, pop up dining experiences, and combinations of live music, outdoor movies, games, and more. Each month has a new theme and a new story. The Museum Store and exhibition galleries remain open until 8 PM for shopping and exploring. After Hours is sponsored by Hertz Investment Group and Capital City Beverages and is free to the public.
For more information, visit the museum’s website at www.msmuseumart.org.
The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson and Visit Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.