WHEN: June 25, 2025
WHERE: Stone Acres Farm, 393 N Main St, Stonington, CT
Join us for a magical evening celebrating culinary legend and global icon Jacques Pépin, who will be in attendance! Enjoy a cocktail hour and a multi-course dinner with drink pairings inspired by Puerto Rican cuisine. Hosted by 2024 James Beard finalist Chef Reneé Touponce and 2023 James Beard winner Chef Natalia Vallejo, this special dinner will take place under the summer stars at the historic Stone Acres Farm.
Here are the highlights:
Chef Reneé, Chef Natalia and the full 85th Day Team, is proud to support the Jacques Pépin Foundation by donating a 100% of the proceeds from the dinner to help empower individuals through culinary education. Enjoy a meal that makes a difference. The proceeds from the event help transform lives through culinary education, and we deeply appreciate your generous support.
Jacques Pépin will be in attendance for this event!
This dinner is a heartfelt tribute to Jacques’ late wife, Gloria, whose Puerto Rican and Cuban heritage introduced Jacques to new flavors and ingredients. This collaboration honors Gloria’s legacy while also celebrating the bond between Chef Reneé and Chef Natalia, forged through their shared love of Puerto Rican cuisine.
Stone Acres Farm is a sixty-three acre working farm located in the historic coastal New England town of Stonington, Connecticut. The property’s rolling hills, gardens, and acres of vegetable production are open to visitors. Stone Acres Farm celebrates natural farming, sustainable food, culinary education and the preservation of open space, cultural landscapes, and historic structures.
Important details:
The dinner will take place outdoors, rain or shine, so dress in layers and consider farm-friendly footwear! You’ll have access to the historic formal gardens, so prepare for traversing grass and gravel.
Proceeds will support the Jacques Pépin Foundation. Your ticket purchase helps transform lives through culinary education, and we deeply appreciate your generous support.
Host Chefs
Reneé Touponce
Executive chef partner, Oyster Club and The Port of Call
With a passionate focus on local ingredients and a serious position on equality in the kitchen, Reneé Touponce, Chef/partner of Oyster Club and The Port of Call, continues to raise the culinary bar in Mystic, CT and throughout New England. Reneé is a 2024 James Beard Award Finalist for Outstanding Chef, a 2023 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef Northeast, and was named Chef of the Year at the Connecticut Restaurant Association’s 2022 CRazies Awards. Her kitchens are healthy, equal and safe, where no one has to feel out of place, while also cooking some of the most innovative and thoughtful food in New England.
Natalia L. Vallejo
Executive chef, Cocina al Fondo
Natalia Vallejo is a Puerto Rican chef who has worked in renowned restaurants around the world. She has immersed herself in various programs and courses, studying oenology, sensory analysis, nutrition, artisanal baking, molecular cuisine, and wine pairing, among others. She spent time researching the ancestral food of the Mapuche community in Chile, began her studies in Nutrition and Dietetics in Puerto Rico, and later went to Argentina to continue her education with the renowned chefs Gato Dumas and Mausi Sebess.
