Windrose Farm + Edible SLO ‘Use My Kitchen, Tell Your Story’ Dinner Series | Paso Robles Event Planner

Check out the full feature on Edible SLO!

Chef’s Story: Chef Aazalina is a fifth generation street food vendor hailing from Penang, Malaysia. After moving to San Francisco over ten years ago the one thing that comforted her while settling in was cooking food that she grew up eating. She started cooking not just for herself but also for friends and family and in 2010 she turned her love for cooking and sharing her culture into a business! She owns Azalina’s a restaurant in the Tenderloin District in San Francisco. Azalina was named on Bon Apetit’s “10 Top Upcoming Chef’s” in 2010, honored as a “Enterprising Women on the Rise” by the Women’s Initiative for Self Improvement in 2012, and even catered food for former President of the United States Barrack Obama! Also her daughter served as one of her sous chefs for this dinner at Windrose Farm!

“I always tell myself – Malaysia birthed me and the US made me the person I am today…. Being an immigrant has set me up to be the best version of myself on a daily basis. I always have to put my best foot (and food) forward, while never forgetting to give back to the local economy, and to the community that has supported me.” – Chef Azalina, Edible SLO #IAmAnImigrant

Our Inspiration: Using the beautiful backdrop of Windrose farms, we were inspired to do an outside dinner experience focusing on natural materials. We used a mixture of stoneware and wooden bowls to reflect on the Malaysian cooking and serving styles. The natural table design had pops of color coming from the floral arrangements and the hand-dyed napkins from Couleur de la Vie. There was also an added touch of color coming from a few family heirloom plates from the property owners, reminiscent of a popular Malaysian plate design.

The Kitchen: Windrose Farm is a family-owned farm founded by Bill and Barbara Spencer in 1995 after two years of selling produce at farmer’s markets from their first small market garden. Bill and Barbara established the philosophy of the farm being an ecosystem that they and everyone who works on or visits the land should strive to build and maintain the plant and animal communities that are ecologically suited to the farm’s particular combination of soil, climate, and place. The Welch Family took over the farm in 2020.

They believe strongly in giving back and in the power of community. They believe in figuring out what works and doing the next right thing.

Justin and Catherine are especially keen on protecting the various habitats found on the property and using best practices in sustainable agriculture to bring some of the areas back to life. Given their experience in animal agriculture, they also fruition through humanely raised heritage animals. There is so much more to come for Windrose and the Welches are grateful to play their part.

Special Thanks to These Amazing Vendors:
Photography: fusillofoto
Chef: Azalina Eusope
Sous Chef: Rachel Ponce
Hand Dyed Napkins: couleur de la vie
Menu Design: Honey Jo Creative Co. + Anna Eats Colors
Escort Card Design: Rachell Rae Designs
Parting Gifts: Harvestly.co
Venue: Windrose Farm
Event Host: Edible SLO
Event Design & Management: Amanda Holder Events