Palos Verdes Pastoral at Terranea Resort
Palos Verdes Peninsula, California
Celebrating Butterflies, Bees, Birds and other Pollinators at the
2022 Palos Verdes Pastoral Garden-to-Table Dining Experience
Over 200 dinner guests are seated at long tables in a stunning coastal setting… linen tablecloths with exquisite natural décor and wine glasses sparkling in the sunlight… the sounds of the ocean, and a gentle breeze inspiring the feeling of standing in a field of coastal grasslands. The first of multiple courses is served and an evening of fine wine, and beautiful food begins.
Hosted by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy in partnership with Terranea Resort, the Palos Verdes Pastoral: Garden-to-Table Dining Experience was held on Sunday, May 1, 2022.
Palos Verdes Pastoral is the Conservancy’s most important annual event, allowing it to raise support, funds, and awareness for the conservation and management of 1600 acres of permanently protected rare coastal habitat.
This year Pastoral highlighted the necessity of butterflies, bees, birds and other pollinators and the ways in which we can reverse the dramatic decline in their populations by creating waystations with native plants and wildflowers.
Palos Verdes Pastoral
From the signature cocktail, menu and décor to the displays and special tastings, the evening is an immersive experience for guests that will inspire them long after the event.
“We have created a one-of-a-kind event based on the concept of local food, nature and community” explains Pastoral Chair Diana Heffernan-Schrader.
“It is a special evening where old friends and new enjoy a local and sustainable dining experience around a theme that enables us to understand the importance of the rare biodiversity of the lands we are lucky enough to call home for pollinators and other wildlife.”
Palos Verdes School Gardens
Palos Verdes School Gardens seeks to create edible education learning opportunities in public places including schools and restaurant gardens.
Palos Verdes School Gardens provided all of the amazing featured decor, tabletop decor and edible flowers to garnish the signature cocktail. As part of the sustainability focus, all of the pollinator display plants were locally grown, purchased, and harvested. Subsequently, all the display plants made their way to local elementary schools to be planted in their gardens. The table decor was reused for school celebrations in the following week and composted afterwards. (pvschoolgardens.org)
The Pollinator Place Cards
The most common avian pollinator is a hummingbird
One in every three bites of food depends on pollinators
Monarch butterflies are colored to warn predators
that they are foul tasting and poisonous
Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading
global crops depend on animal pollination
The honey bee is the only insect that produces
food eaten by man
A Monarch caterpillar can eat an entire
milkweed leaf in less than 5 minutes and the toxins in the milkweed
are stored in the body of the insect to help ward off predators
Honeybee Dance – When a bee has found food it will
return to the hive to let others know where the food is with a
round dance and a waggle dance for the direction
The Local Beekeeper and Honey Tasting
Honey Girl Grows designs and tends culinary gardens and pollinator projects for home cooks, chefs and restaurants, corporate and resorts. Honey Girl Grows has grown tons of the rarest heirloom tomatoes and edible flowers for chefs, raised hundreds of happy healthy beehives, pounds of honey, and thousands of extinction-threatened butterflies with corporate pollinator projects. (from HoneyGirlGrows.com)
Wildflower Honey
The Mead Tasting
Award-winning cider made with only locally sourced ingredients. Champagne yeast with a touch of Southern California honey served in sustainable, reusable bottles.
The recipes are steeped in tradition and the tastes refined by the warm Southern California sunshine. Made with fresh and local ingredients and Honest values… (from HonestAbeCider.com)
The Signature Cocktail
Purple Pollinator
The Menu
Sustainable food proponent, Terranea Resort Executive Chef Andrew Vaughan, presented the event’s garden-to-table menu using Santa Monica Seafood’s local sustainable sea bass, Eel River grass-fed beef, and the freshest ingredients and flavors to create delicious and thoughtful Low Carbon Footprint courses paired with an inspired selection of wines.
The Canapés
Fig Wrapped with Chef’s Ham
Crispy Squash Blossom, Honeyed Lavender Goat Cheese, Terranea Sea Salt
Eggplant & Olive Tapenade, Stuffed House-pickled Peninsula Grape Leaves
Potato Tostones, Catalina View Farm’s Herb Pink Peppercorn Aioli
Cumin Scented Skirt Steak, Preserved Meyer Lemon Gremolata
The Wines with Canapés
Daou Sauvignon Blanc 2021
Catalina View Gardens Chardonnay 2019
Girl & The Grapes Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Cline Cellars Zinfandel 2019
The Dinner
Artisanal Breads, Palos Verdes Peninsula Wild Herb Butter
Rosemary House-Pressed Olive Oil Sea Salt Grissini, Sea Salt Pepper Lavash, Brioche Chimichurri Rolls
First Course
Duet of Soup & Salad
Asparagus Soup, Toasted Hazelnuts, Black Truffle Butter
Nature’s Produce Stone Fruit, Coastal Wild Fennel, Watercress, Frisée, Citrus Vinaigrette
Wine Pairing
Daou Chardonnay 2021
Cambria Estates Pinot Noir 2020
Second Course
Santa Monica Seafood Baja Sea Bass
Cooked in Freshly Harvested Giant Kelp, with Dried Cherries, Zucchini, Heirloom Faro & Black Quinoa Pilaf, Sunflower Seeds, Preserved Mandarin with Sage (read more about this delicious Baja Sea Bass and the superb recipe from Chef Andrew Vaughan here)
Wine Pairing
Cambria Estates Chardonnay 2020
Third Course
Eel River Organic Grilled Grass-fed Filet of Beef
Braised Greens, Weiser Carrots, Lavender Beets, Honeyed Glaze
Wine Pairing
Parker Station Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
Fourth Course
Deconstructed Meyer Lemon Torte
Blackberry Sorbet, Meyer Lemon Cream, Terranea Harvested Honey, Almond Streusel
Wine Pairing
The Ojai Vineyard John Sebastiano Grenache 2019
“The intimate setting dining al fresco on the Ocean Terrance Lawn on a lovely blossom-scented spring evening is the perfect location to offer a rich experience for guests, one that fosters meaningful conversation over a meal celebrating nature.” says Conservancy Executive Director Adrienne Mohan.
“We are grateful to Terranea Resort for joining us to present this amazing culinary experience and for making the preservation of the natural landscape of the peninsula an essential part of the resort.”
Thank You
Extending my heartfelt thank you to Louise & Diana for inviting me back to Terranea to shoot this fabulous event; to photographer’s assistants Chip & Pat for their keen eye and hours of hard work; and to Chef Andrew and his Team for the professionalism, help with staging, and the absolutely stunning photogenic food.
Excerpts written with the help of PVPLC.org.
Previous Pastoral Events
Magnificent Mediterranean Theme
UPDATE: Read about the 2023 event “Go Wild for the Peninsula” now posted here.
What an awesome event! You are so fortunate to be involved with Palos Verdes Pastoral.
The menu looks delicious and your photos are outstanding. Magnifique!!