Chef Gina Pulido, a.k.a. The Dumpling Queen, will be a featured chef at our Farm to Table Dinner on August 30, 2020.
Chef Gina Pulido has lived in the Prescott area for three years now. Shortly after she moved from Colorado Springs, she volunteered at the first annual Prescott Farmers Market Farm to Table Dinner. This will be her third year at the F2T Dinner and her second as a featured chef! She has also participated in PFM’s Chef in Action program.
We asked Chef Gina how she feels about supporting local agriculture: “I feel like, when you know exactly where your food comes from, it gives you a greater sense of love in the preparation of the dish as a whole and an even bigger sense of pride when feeding someone and sharing where it came from and who took the time to grow/raise that product. It just gives back to the community because the support always ends up coming full circle.”
Chef Gina loves to work with her hands, so her favorite dishes to make include things like handmade pastas and dumplings, of course! Her passion for food comes from her huge Filipino family, where every special occasion is centered around food. She says feeding people is the way that she can be most nurturing.
Chef Gina at the 2019 Farm to Table Dinner
We asked Chef Gina what she’s most looking forward to about the 2020 Farm to Table Dinner. She said she’s excited for “[a] big gathering once again, centered around local food and the community! We’ve been social distancing and, with the quarantine, I’m sure it’s gonna be a great celebration of just being together as well.”
We also asked her to share a silver lining she discovered during the pandemic: “The pandemic definitely gave me clarity. I got a break from the demands of being a chef and running the line and working 60+ hours a week. I got to rest physically and had time to think about all the things I truly want to do for myself and my career as we get to a ‘new normal’ in the coming year.”
We’re excited for Chef Gina to participate in the Farm to Table Dinner again this year!