Aarti Sequeira and the Hadley Date Gardens team.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICOLE JARAMILLO
The day grew warm, but attendees’ enthusiasm never waned as a guided date farm tour and lunch began on Thursday during the 12th annual Palm Desert Food & Wine event presented by Agua Caliente Casinos. At 9 a.m., Aarti Sequeira, celebrity chef and California Date Ambassador, welcomed several fellow chefs and a host of food and wine lovers aboard a luxury bus bound for Hadley Date Gardens, The Packhouse, and Aziz Farms in Thermal. There wasn’t a seat to spare!
The tour’s first stop was Hadley Date Gardens, where company president Albert P. Keck II offered a peek behind the palm fronds of his family-owned and operated business. Standing in front of a date palm grove, Keck explained the process of pollinating the spring season’s budding fruit as agile workers clambered up trees tending to the popular deglet noor variety.
Tour participants were subsequently invited into a nearby packing facility to observe the previous season’s medjool date harvest being sorted, pitted, and packaged for consumption. Dates fare well in cold storage, so there’s always a steady stream of fresh product heading to retailers and wholesalers. Curiosity sated, the group then reboarded the bus armed with gift bags of date products and strands of date palm flowers.
Glasses of Champagne awaited them just a few miles away at Aziz Farms, a family-operated date growing and packing business, which also happens to incorporate a versatile event venue called The Packhouse. “Our tagline is, ‘Grow together, gather together,’” said owner and former restaurant chef Mark Tadros, who welcomed everyone to his sprawling 10-acre property. His informative and entertaining tour included walking through rows of sustainable vegetables grown on-site.
Trio chef preparing stuffed dates.
Orzo pasta salad.
Delfino cilantro.
Chicories and romaine with a date vinaigrette.
Dates stuffed with chicken liver mousse and pine nut brittle.
Guests were invited to sample eclectic crops such as Russian kale, Delfino cilantro, and French breakfast radishes straight from the field. Plenty of questions arose that Tadros knowledgeably answered as the group meandered down the property toward an open-air event space where a tempting alfresco lunch awaited. Tony Marchese, owner of Trio Restaurant in Palm Springs, and his staff were the official hosts, enthusiastically greeting and inviting everyone to take a seat down the length of a long and shaded table.
Naturally, the menu brimmed with California dates. Appetites were whetted by an assortment of dates stuffed with chicken liver mousse and pine nut brittle. Four entrées were then served family style and included offerings such as an orzo pasta salad with roasted dates and a turkey sandwich with balsamic-date jam. Wine accompanied the meal as guests dined and socialized amid the beautiful setting.
Once the delicious Valrhona chocolate sticky toffee dessert pudding was devoured, tourgoers, excited from a day on the farms, reluctantly made their way back to the bus. They toted a small box of dates gifted to them at the table along with a copy of chef Aarti Sequeira’s Little Black Date Book chock full of must-try, California date-inspired recipes. Whether guests came from near or far, everyone left knowing more about the Coachella Valley’s signature crop and its endless possibilities.
Pastry chef Zac Young and chef Aarti Sequeira.
Albert Keck's son.
Date palm flowers.
Guests enjoyed lunch alfresco.
Dates.
Guests enjoy a refreshing rosé.
Grilled half chicken and broccolini.
Orzo pasta salad and turkey sandwich.
