Have you heard about Jim Denevan? Neither had I, until I read Howie Kahn’s article in this month’s GQ. If you’re into food (and enjoy good writing), I’d mark it down as an absolute must read.

Denevan is the founder of the culinary road show Outstanding in the Field, and quite frankly, we need more people like him. He hosts dinners in the field. Literally. When you eat with Denevan, as Kahn was fortunate enough to do in Vancouver and Paonia, Colorado, you literally eat surrounded by the products you are consuming.

He has the food prepared by professional chefs, but what’s more is that he still lets the farmers be the stars. He puts the farmer first, viewing the choices farmers make as “stories created by passion” and saying that “story is the substance of food.” At these dinners, he allows those who supplied the food to speak to the diners about their passion and the joy of bringing their bounty to the table. All of which inspires, leaving an indelible imprint on the minds of those present.

Denevan is also a sand artist, which allows him to understand the ephemeral nature of most everything in life. His art only lasts for those who’ve witnessed it, and that’s how he means for it to be. It is the same with his dinners. It is the same with the state of farms on which they dine. It is the same with life.

Ultimately, through my reading of the article, what sums up Denevan is appreciation. He seems to appreciate every moment. As Kahn quotes him at the meal in Paonia, “We eat what’s meaningful and delicious about a place.” And that place won’t be the same the next day and neither will the people. They will be left with the memories of a meal that may have changed them and the way they look at the world. It’s all fleeting, but perhaps the memory will leave them with something that endures: the appreciation for where their food comes from, for the farmers that grew it, for the process.

There’s a beautiful line in the article where Denevan expresses gratitude that his sand art washes away. He asks, “Who would want it not to wash away?” This might sound crazy, but I think what he’s talking about is how things begin. The beauty is that spark. Someone saw it. It changed someone. And they’ll move on. Perhaps changing the next person they encounter. And with a bit of luck, that spark could start a revolution. That seems to be what Denevan reaches for with his meals, and lofty as it may be, with food culture in America what it is, it’s exactly what we need.

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