We are delighted to welcome Community Table back for the 2023 Spring Series. This beloved event brings a renowned chef to our farm to design an ecological meal around our four seasonal rotations (market garden, milpa, fruit forest, cover crops). By bringing these culinary artists back to the source, we give them an opportunity to connect with new ingredients, find fresh inspiration in our bioregion’s historic foodways, and discover the rewards of relationship with the land.
CHEF DAVID SERUS OF MONTAGE LAGUNA BEACH
For more than 25 years, Chef David Serus has worked with renowned luxury hotels and Michelin star restaurants across the United States and Europe. Since 2019, he has served as the Executive Chef of Montage Laguna Beach, overseeing the flagship resort’s culinary efforts of The Loft, Mosaic Bar and Grille, Lobby Lounge, in-room dining, banquets, weddings and special events. Born and raised in La Mans, France, Serus was inspired to become a chef after spending time in his grandmother’s kitchen and working at his uncle’s bakery during school vacations. It was his upbringing in France, consuming the best local produce and products that informed his culinary philosophy today. “At a very young age, I was exposed to locally sourced ingredients in my parent’s backyard garden, watching how my family used them to create simple but unforgettable dishes. At Montage Laguna Beach and throughout my career, my approach to food is simple and clean with well executed technique. Respecting the ingredients without modifying their original flavor is key,” says Serus. With access to California’s bounty of seasonal produce and fresh seafood in the Pacific waters directly in front of Montage Laguna Beach, guests can expect light and ingredient-driven dishes that celebrate Southern California’s locale.
After graduating culinary school with a bevet de technicien supérieur in hotel and restaurant management and a brevet de technicien hôtelier, both in Quimper, France, he served a year in the French Navy before beginning his culinary career serving at two Michelin Star restaurants – one in London and the other in the South of France. His journey from there led him to luxury hotels, where he worked his way up the kitchen ladder serving for The Ritz-Carlton Hotels and Resorts for 17 years across the United States, Portugal and Spain, in addition to the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts for seven years. Prior to Montage Laguna Beach, he held Executive Chef positions at award-wining The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, Arizona; The Ritz-Carlton, Orlando Grand Lakes, Florida; and The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C. Before growing into that role, he served as the Executive Sous Chef of The Ritz-Carlton, Half- Moon Bay, California.
DIETARY PREFERENCES
Community Table dinners are fixed course, family-style meals. As such, we cannot accommodate every dietary restriction. Please email us with any dietary needs. We will try to accommodate for vegetarian/vegan needs, gluten intolerance, and seafood/shellfish allergies but let us know if there are any specific dietary restrictions for any of your guests. We will do our best to accommodate anything beyond the 3 listed. If there are any life threatening allergies we recommend emailing before purchasing tickets.
SCHEDULE
Community Table Dinners begin at 6pm, when we’ll start with drinks and a farm tour. We appreciate timeliness as the dinner is coursed intentionally with just one seating. Dinners typically end around 10pm.
REFUNDS
We can offer refunds up to one week before the dinner. In the case that you need to cancel last minute, we would be happy to work with you to pass along your tickets to friends or family members.