the living plate
a health focused, multi course, culinary experience.
we are bringing you an all new dining experience combining our love of food + wine, our passion for bringing you delicious plant-based food + our desire to bridge the gap between food + medicine.
Nourish in Nature: A Healing-Oriented Approach to Integrating Food + Medicine
A Multi-Course Farm-To-Table Dinner & Farm Tour
The Chef: Chef Valentina Garcia Montaño
The Doctor: Dr. Jen Jennings of Cardea Health Integrative
The Farmer: Missy Singer DuMars of Crown Hill Farm
hosted by HER Kitchen
Sit down to a beautiful + nutritious meal prepared by Chef Valentina Garcia Montaño. As you dine, Dr. Jen Jennings + the HER Kitchen team will talk to you about the health benefits of the ingredients on each plate, and how to integrate your food as your medicine. In order to work with what is at its best, the full menu will not be finalized until soon before the dinner.
Be greeted to Crown Hill Farm by Missy Singer DuMars with a tour of the farm and discussion of what is in season. Learn about the unique vegetable varieties she grows - chosen for flavor, color, joy & regional adaptability. Hear a bit of the rich history of Crown Hill Farm, from its farmhouse to its multiple owners as varied as what the gardens now grow!
Then, dine in the grove, as you sit amongst the fullness of the apple orchard, gardens, surrounding hay field & vineyard. Take in the beauty of the early evening light as you experience truly farm-to-table ingredients, in addition to hand-selected beverage pairings chosen to compliment each course..
$110/person - includes:
a 5-course plant-based meal
a non-alcoholic healthy mocktail to compliment each course
a presentation by Dr. Jen Jennings
a guided tour of Crown Hill Farm
***Note: When you order tickets, please have one person order for your entire party. You will be seated with your party.
Chef Valentina Garcia Montaño
Valentina was born in Houston, Texas to a father whose meat skill knew no equal and a mother whose baking prowess could only be described as genius. At the age of three, she moved back to her native Argentina and was raised in a culinarily diverse environment with all the love and delicious food any young child could hope for. Her dear grandmother Maidi, “La Abu,” instilled in Valentina a deep love and appreciation for food and the dinner ritual. Valentina moved backed to the United States to Buffalo, NY, to be closer to her mom. She had her beautiful daughter Martina, with whom she shares her deep love and appreciation for food.
She has worked in kitchens across the city, including Tempo + most recently, as the Executive Chef at Ristorante Lombardo.
Dr. Jennifer L. Jennings, DNP
Dr. Jennings DNP, MS, APRN, FNP-BC is the owner of Cardea Health Integrative in Buffalo NY, an integrative medicine practice specializing in infusion therapy- which is one of Western New York’s premiere health and wellness destinations.
Her clinical experience includes several years of level one trauma, neurosurgical critical care, emergency medicine, primary care and cardiothoracic surgery. In addition to her clinical experience, she was an Assistant Professor within the Graduate Department of Nursing at Georgetown University, School of Nursing and Health Studies in Washington, DC. At Georgetown, she has acted as a course coordinator and chair of the Evaluation Committee.
She was appointed Faculty inter-professional simulation representative and Dedicated Education Unit (DEU) advisor in the academic setting. In addition, she has corporate healthcare experience acting as a Corporate Manager of Clinical Education as part of the Nurse Executive team, servicing 5 hospital sites and overseeing all aspects of clinical education for the Health system with >10,000 employees.
Dr. Jennings has been appointed as “Expert Witness” in several malpractice legal cases and acted as editor for several clinical publications, and has also served on healthcare boards and volunteered her time providing care to the under-served population. She has been appointed a podium speaker at national conferences; has peer-reviewed publications in refereed journals and was awarded a U.S. and Trademark Office Patent which was presented at the UNC Trauma Conference 2012.
She is also concurrently pursuing fellowships in functional medicine from A4M and IFM. Jen is a RYT-200 yoga instructor and is pursuing her RYT-500 certification.
Dr. Jen volunteers for various non-profit organizations, gives complimentary lectures and education to groups in need and does pro-bono work for vulnerable populations.
When not caring for her patients, Jen is passionate about continuous learning and gardening - she loves to get her hands in the earth. She also loves to care for her chickens, peacocks and bees. Jen is an avid skier (ski patrol), nature/wildlife admirer and loves to hike with her family.
Missy Singer DuMars
I never set out to be a farmer. It was never a dream of mine. I grew up as a ’suburban/city-girl' where playing outside was on a golf course and manicured yards — not ponds and forests and fields. Animals were at zoos, not my backyard. Beyond the occasional houseplant, I had never grown a thing. I’ve had a range of careers in my life from the corporate entertainment industry to massage therapy and business coaching and undoubtedly, what always leads me is my insatiable curiosity and thirst to understand.
I stumbled my way into growing food. I’ve always had a passion for cooking, that began with helping my grandmother prepare holiday meals. Now, as an adult, I have chosen a specific dietary path and pay close attention to nutrition, health and the role food can play in natural wellness management. Growing food is a natural step in that quest to bring together more awareness of what goes into my body and creating beautiful, delicious meals.
I was definitely hesitant because farming was so far outside of anything I’d ever done before. I think it still scares me sometimes to take this venture on! Every day, I think I have no idea what I’m doing. I feel a deep responsibility to honor the sacred lives that are a part of this farm and often agonize over every decision, unsure if it is a good, wise, best choice. I think most farmers feel that regularly, whether seasoned multi-generation farmers or new like myself. Change is the one constant, but I have faith and trust in continuing to listen to what the land asks of me.
Farming has been rewarding beyond what I could imagine. I get to be outside every single day, breathing fresh air and deeply experiencing the changes of season and cycles of nature. I think that every lesson we need is available in the natural world: resiliency, beauty, abundance, gratitude, growth, change, death, rebirth and more. There is great pleasure in cooking food I have grown and nothing more rewarding than sitting down to a meal, looking at my plate and knowing every little detail of what went into that food. And, I’m so overjoyed to share that with others and witness their face light up at the same experience of delicious, simple nourishment of body and soul.