Salinas, Calif. – Markon Cooperative’s annual fundraiser, The Taste of Markon, is set to take place on Friday, October 4, 2024. This highly anticipated event supports Rancho Cielo in Salinas, California. It brings together Markon’s five member companies and their corporate and customer chefs for a unique dining experience that benefits the Drummond Culinary Academy. This non-profit organization is dedicated to serving at-risk youth in Monterey County.
The Taste of Markon dinner concludes the Markon Chef Summit, which takes place in the days leading up to the event. This summit gathers 18 Markon member chefs and their operator customers for a week of field tours, roundtable discussions on industry trends, and direct interactions with suppliers and growers. During the summit, participants work together to create innovative plant-powered dishes while mentoring young culinary students. The Friday evening event features a strolling dinner with passed hors d’oeuvres, seven delectable course stations, live music, and selections from the region’s finest wineries. Last year’s event set new benchmarks with our first-ever silent auction and record-breaking ticket sales, contributing significantly to the total amount raised. Building on this success, the Taste of Markon 2024 is poised to surpass our previous fundraising achievements.
“In our 9th Annual Chef Summit, Markon will assemble chefs from across North America for our most successful Taste of Markon yet. While this education-focused week allows the chefs to get their boots in the fields and experience the supply chain journey that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to their kitchens, the culinary students are given invaluable, hands-on working experience with seasoned chefs, creating a produce-focused menu directly benefiting their school,” explains Andy Hamilton, Markon CEO. “Our Chef Summit serves the dual purpose of delivering a delicious meal to those in attendance while uplifting our Monterey County community.”
Tickets for The Taste of Markon are available for purchase through the Rancho Cielo website.
About Markon
Markon Cooperative, Inc. brings a fresh approach and thinking to all its premium farm-to-table produce, including Markon First Crop, Markon Ready-Set-Serve, and Markon Essentials product lines, so foodservice operators can offer the freshest ideas to their consumers. Based in Salinas, California and nationally known as leaders in quality, consistency, and convenience, Markon serves as the produce purchasing, logistics, information, and marketing partner for its five member distributors (Ben E. Keith Foods, Gordon Food Service, Gordon Food Service Canada, Nicholas & Company, and Shamrock Foods Company) and their North American foodservice customers. Markon continues to introduce new products, time-saving, and innovative packaging based on the needs of our member and operator customers. Learn more about Markon’s commitment to providing the highest-quality, safest, and freshest produce at Markon.com.
