Charles Youts, executive chef of The Classic Café in Roanoke, will speak and cook at the 2016 Fall Garden Festival sponsored by the Denton County Master Gardener Association. The Festival runs from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1 at Trietsch Memorial UMC Family Life Center, 6101 Morriss Rd. in Flower Mound. The event is free and open to the public.
Chef Youts’ presentation, “Eating Fresh,” begins at 9:30 a.m. as he prepares foods made from seasonal vegetables and herbs.
While growing up outside of San Angelo, the chef-to-be learned a hands-on style of cooking. He also raised livestock and produce as an FFA member and entered chuck-wagon cookout competitions, whipping up everything from chili to brisket in open-fire Dutch ovens.
Later, Youts enrolled in the Art Institute of Dallas and earned an associate degree in Culinary Arts. In addition to his work at The Classic Café, Youts mentors students at the Byron Nelson High School Academy of Culinary Arts & Hospitality and teaches at Colleyville’s Market Street and Southlake’s Williams-Sonoma. He also serves DFW at numerous charitable events.
Other speakers are the Garden Festival are Janet Gershenfeld of Highland Village, an experienced Master Gardener who will speak on edible plants that can be blended into an existing landscape of any size, and Steven Chamblee, author and chief horticulturist at Chandor Gardens in Weatherford, who will present “Garden Harmony 101.” Both presentations are scheduled twice during the day, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Informational booths will cover the topics of bees, monarch butterflies, gourds, veggie gardening, herb growing, container gardening, Earth-Kind, landscape design, worm composting, hypertufa, water conservation, propagation, tree care and many other areas.
Youth activities include face-painting, Science with Attitude activities, information on beekeeping, meeting county 4-H Club members, talking to an entomologist about bugs, planting daffodil bulbs to take home and studying snakes and wild animals of North Texas with the Elm Fork Master Naturalists. Dozens of vendors will be on hand to offer unique and handmade gifts and gardening accessories.