Patrons who attend the dinners are treated to a night of fun, food and spirits, but also know their price of admission is going to a good cause. “The supper club dinners started with an hour of socializing and then the group sat down around 7 p.m.,” explained Fleer. “We seated everyone in large groups, and food was served family style. As you may know on some nights during the season there is a communal element to the dining experience for individual tables. I really feel like passing food around is an important part of the magic of the dinner table and how it established connections with our dining friends. “For the supper club we went all-in on the shared plates approach and it created a great atmosphere,” Fleer added. “We started each dinner with a couple of spreads in mason jars like smoked trout spread and Chelsea’s pretzel rolls and roasted parsnip hummus on crostini. Then we served two family style appetizers, always a big salad like a CK Waldorf Salad with golden raisins,
Leaf Season • 2013
spiced walnuts and local apples and then a pasta style dish like heritage pork and dumplings with chow-chow. The entree would be something like coq au vin with roasted fingerling potatoes and roasted shiitake mushrooms. And, of course, we would finish with one of Chelsea Raby’s outrageously delicious desserts like banana pudding icebox cake with cocoa meringues and dark chocolate sorbet.” For beverages, Fleer said he would always recommend wines, but Canyon Kitchen also offered its full wine list. “There’s a large selection of wines by the glass and craft beers,” he added. Guests are treated to live local music as well. “The music ranged from bluegrass to blues, from southern rock to a singa-long piano for Valentines Day,” Fleer said. On average, Fleer said 90 to 100 patrons attended the CK Suppers last year. “For most of our events, since we donated $5 per person to charity, we were typically donating about $500 per
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