Gracey Lane Farm serving up fundraiser for fire victims

Fallbrook’s Gracey Lane Farm will be serving up awareness along with fine food and drink at a fundraiser for victims of the recent Lilac fire.

Owner Jen Phillips, who has worked with celebrity chefs and created culinary events, is launching the farm as an event venue with “The Beauty in Things,” a gourmet event from 5:30-9 p.m. March 24 with wine pairings, entertainment and silent art auction.

Phillips has teamed with the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce and the Community Foundation (“Legacy Endowment”) to establish the “Out of the Ashes” Fund, created to help those most in need after the December 2017 fire. A percentage of the event’s proceeds will go to the fund.

Phillips, her husband, Jason, and their three boys have lived at the 2.5-acre Gracey Lane Farm, a private estate and citrus-producing farm, since moving to Fallbrook in 2009.

Calling themselves “The Fallbrook Farm Boys,” their sons, Fisher, 11, Sawyer, 10, and Finn, 8, started a pop-up farm stand selling excess produce, eggs and plants, posting notices on Facebook of the sales. “People really enjoyed coming, and we enjoyed having them,” said Phillips in an email interview.

After the fires, the family was among those who evacuated. They were fortunate that their property was safe. But others weren’t so lucky, and the Phillipses wanted to help.

“I’ve been wanting to bring something new to Fallbrook and North San Diego County,” said Phillips. “The last few years, I was consulting for a professional chef tool company where we interviewed celebrity chefs and participated in some amazing culinary events for charity. I thought it was a good time to pull them all together to launch this new company (venue), bring new experiences to our area … and do good for our community while we are at it.”

Marissa Gerlach is the executive chef at Gracey Farm, having worked most recently as executive chef of the Vista Valley Country Club and chef de cuisine at the Ritz Carlton in Laguna Niguel. She was named one of the top chefs of Food and Wine magazine in 2010.

The farm also has a Resident Taste & Traditions Expert, Mara Papatheodorou, a “master foodier” with a resume including culinary consultant, Bon Appetit writer and chef. Papatheodorou will be at the dinner, discussing how “farm to forge” food production like that at Gracey Lane Farm affects local communities.

“The Beauty in Things” will also feature commissioned art by Jeannie Jeffries of Venice Beach, and music by professional L.A. jazz quartet Electro Syndicate Eclectic (ESE). Vintner Scott Harvey and his wife, Jana, will be pouring wines from their Amador County winery, Scott Harvey Wines.

Tickets to the event are $185 (including tax and service fees). To buy tickets and see more about the event, visit www.graceylanefarm.com.

The farm is at 2111 Gracey Lane in Fallbrook. Call (949) 233-6621; email info@graceylanefarm.com.

Direct donations can be made to the Out of the Ashes Fund via the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce or to the Legacy Endowment Community Foundation. Contact the Fallbrook Chamber for information on the fund at (760) 728-5845 or https://www.fallbrookchamberofcommerce.org.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com