When the local food movement first arrived on the Austin culinary scene a few years ago, only a modest number of restaurateurs and chefs understood its honorable cause, let alone its true purpose. Nowadays, the bohemian trend has trickled down the culinary pyramid, and finding an Austin chef who isn't a self-proclaimed locavore or sustainable foodie is becoming increasingly difficult.

At a recent installment of the Sustainable Food Center Chef Series, a lineup of famed Austin chefs prepared eclectic courses exclusively from the bounty of local farms. The four-hour dinner was a formidable testament to how influential and irreplaceable Texas farms, cattle ranches and community gardens have become to Austin chefs.

The dinner featured contributions from the the likes of Andrew Wiseheart of Contigo, Jesse Griffiths of Dai Due Supper Club, John Bates of Noble Pig, James Holmes of Olivia and Lucy's Fried Chicken, Shawn Cirkiel of Olive & June and Parkside and Jessica Maher of Lenoir. The chefs prepared meals as simple as brussels sprouts with bacon emulsion to a barrel-smoked pork shoulder and antelope-wild boar terrine.

"So many Austin chefs have a passion for our cause now," says Susan Leibrock, Community Relations Director of the Sustainable Food Center. "They've seen these other chefs engaging with farmers markets and are beginning to understand that this is not just a temporary trend. It's here to stay."

Leibrock moved to Austin from New York five years ago to work with the Sustainable Food Center because she admired the center's ambitious mission to expand its prevalence and sphere of influence. It seemed like a bold mission to many, she admits, given there were only 11 community gardens in Austin at the time.

Today there are 31, and that number is expected to continue to grow in the coming months and years. "I think many people were estranged from their kitchens for a long time," she says. "I think Austin is changing its dialogue and is going through a period of self-empowerment. People are starting to see how powerful small incremental changes, such as sourcing from a garden, can be."

When Leibrock first met Rene Ortiz, chef of La Condesa, and Jesse Herman, owner of La Condesa, three years ago, she says she could tell from the beginning that the duo were also committed to furthering the influence of the center. In conjunction with the Sustainable Food Center, Herman, Ortiz and Laura Sawicki, pastry chef of La Condesa, have turned the simple idea of intimate chef dinners into a gourmet, sell-out dinner series.

Before working with the Sustainable Food Center, Herman had already planned to host a chef series shortly after opening La Condesa. Yet after giving it some thought, he says he realized the series should include a charitable component, which is why he naturally reached out to the Sustainable Food Center.

"We thought about doing a dinner series because we wanted to unite the Austin chef community. We wanted them to come together and have that dialogue they wouldn't normally be able to have," he says. "We thought it was important to include the Sustainable Food Center since we work so closely with them already. It made sense because their mission coincides with our food philosophy."

In addition to Austin's move to become more "local"-friendly, Herman also believes that Austin chefs have come closer together through the years, as opposed to dividing to compete with one another.

"When we first started La Condesa, there really weren't events like this around Austin," he says. "It's great to see these chefs working together in the kitchen plating for each other, finishing up each other's dishes, and collaborating together. At the end of the day, I believe we're all committed to turning Austin into a culinary destination."

James Holmes has been working with the Sustainable Food Center since he opened his locally-sourced restaurant, Olivia, in 2009. For the fifth dinner series, Holmes utilized a number of local sources to prepare his playful dish of smoked rabbit with biscuits and gravy. "It's always made sense to me to know where my food is coming from," Holmes emphasizes.

Like Herman, Holmes also believes that one of the most remarkable aspects of the dinners is the collaboration between the diverse group of Austin chefs.

"The best part about it, I always tell people, is that you're already friends with all these chefs, so to get to work with them is great. You just never normally get to see them because you're all so busy," Holmes says. "I don't like people yelling at me, but when someone like Tyson Cole yells at me to plate something faster, I can totally respect that."

When Jessica Maher (Lenoir) was invited to participate in the chef series dinner, she knew she wanted to utilize the seasonal abundance of loquats from the trees in her backyard to prepare a meringue tart with fresh strawberries and a honey meringue topping. Her husband, Todd Duplechan, has also been an active participate in the series as well.

"We're involved with a lot of the local farmers and we got to know most of them through the Sustainable Food Center," Maher says. "It's helped us become a better member of the food community in Austin. We're happy to contribute our time and efforts to helping them as much as they've helped us."

Continuing into the future, Maher, like Herman and Holmes, hopes to further expand the dialogue Austin chefs are having about the importance of supporting local farmers, ranchers, and nonprofits — like the Sustainable Food Center.

"The La Condesa event has really introduced us to a lot of chefs we wouldn't normally have the chance to meet," Maher admits. "We've been able to form that connection with one another to further strengthen and build Austin's food community."