Dinner With Purpose
FareStart’s Guest Chef Night series brings some of Seattle’s top chefs into the kitchen with students. Don’t miss this season’s lineup.
By Sarah Stackhouse June 16, 2026
There are plenty of good reasons to go out to dinner in Seattle. FareStart’s Guest Chef Night series gives you one more.
The longtime nonprofit is back with a strong summer lineup of local chefs, each cooking alongside FareStart students for a three-course dinner served by volunteers. All revenue and donations from the series support FareStart’s job training and placement programs for people facing barriers to employment.
FareStart has been doing Guest Chef Night since 1992, turning its restaurant into both a dining room and a classroom. The nonprofit helps students build food-service skills and confidence, with the larger goal of helping people find more stable work and move out of poverty. Over the past 34 years, FareStart has served about 15,000 youth and adults through its training programs and provided 19 million meals to local nonprofits, shelters, respite centers, youth and adult daycare centers, and schools.
Upcoming dinners include:
June 25: Michela Tartaglia of Pasta Casalinga
July 9: Kevin Murray of Ray’s Boathouse
July 30: Nathan Lockwood of Altura and Carrello
Aug. 13: John Sundstrom and Jordan Hilliard of Lark
Aug. 27: José Garzón of Bad Chancla
Sept. 10: Ethan Stowell of Good Table Hospitality
Sept. 24: Brian Clevenger of General Harvest Restaurant Group and Ricardo Cruz Mendoza of Vendemmia
Over the years, Guest Chef Night has brought in some of the city’s best-known chefs, including Melissa Miranda, Rachel Joule, and Brendan McGill, who has participated since 2009. For diners, it’s a chance to try a one-night menu from a chef they may already love. For students, it’s a chance to work with some of the people helping shape Seattle’s food scene.
The dinners also come as FareStart looks toward its next chapter. In a letter this spring, CEO Patrick D’Amelio wrote that FareStart’s new three-year strategic plan includes expanding job training with a goal of enrolling 500 students annually by 2028. “At the heart of this plan are our students—they are our North Star.”
Guest Chef Night takes place at FareStart Restaurant, 2004 Westlake Ave. Tickets are $60, and upcoming menus are available at farestart.org.
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