On the Table

Foodies were out in force at the Lark in the Funk Zone when the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County hosted a reception to commemorate its 7th annual Table of Life fundraiser October 6 at the beautiful Montecito estate of Jim and Stephanie Sokolove, who are leaving our rarefied enclave for the balmier attractions of Boca Raton, Florida, in December.

The popular event will honor Alison Hardey, owner of Jeannine’s, and Patrick Braid of Village Cheese & Wine, – which served more than 5,000 free sandwiches to first responders –, for their inestimable help during the January mudslides.

The charity’s CEO, Erik Talkin, who was celebrating his birthday, also introduced the Foodbank disaster box, which contains a week’s worth of freeze-dried food, which sell for $59 each, enabling another one to be bought for low-income families. It has an expiry date of 2043!

Lark executive chef Jason Paluska, for the fifth consecutive year, conjured up a delicious salad of sun-gold tomatoes and Sonoma goat cheese, which the guests, including Bob Bryant, Janet Garufis, Neil and Jill Levinson, Fred and Sarah Kass, and Judi Weisbart, tucked into.