A Little Help from My Friends

Austin's food community rallies for Pay It Forward fundraiser with Daniel Curtis

Philanthropist and foodie Daniel Curtis

On Memorial Day of last year, Austinite Daniel Curtis slipped while diving into his backyard pool, shattering his sixth cervical vertebrae and rendering him a quadriplegic. His lifelong plans of working in the food industry were cut short, and his necessary recovery became the number one focus in his life.

With the help of friends and family and the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation, Curtis was able to raise over $65,000 at a single fundraising event two months after his injury that helped pay for his medical expenses that were not covered by health insurance.

After making significant strides in his recovery over the past year, Curtis is now looking to pay it forward, to help other spinal cord injury sufferers who might also find themselves in need of financial assistance.

"Every great story has its conflict and I'm determined to give mine a happy ending," says Curtis. "My new mission in life is to give back, to return all the kind gestures, good deeds and quiet sacrifices that have been made on my behalf."

His next major fundraiser, called Pay It Forward with Daniel Curtis, happens the evening of Aug 21 at the AT&T Executive Center. This very special benefit, hosted by the LSPF, will be a night of auctions, live music from songwriter Kat Edmonson and spectacular food prepared by many of Curtis' friends in the Austin culinary community.

On the list of local food celebrities preparing part of the night's menu are Chef Josh Watkins and Chef Plinio Sandalio from The Carillon, Chef Kenzie Allen of Asti, Chef John Bates from The Noble Pig, Chef David Bull from Congress, Chef Shawn Cirkiel of Parkside, Chef Callie Speer from Swift's Attic, Chef Philip Speer of Uchi and Uchiko, Chef Shane Stark of Kenichi and The Tipsy Texan's David Alan.

An early VIP portion of the evening begins at 6 p.m. with a happy hour reception with the award-winning chefs and a chance to make early bids on auction items. Otherwise, dinner, music and a special presentation from Daniel Curtis will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now.

With this list of chefs, a soundtrack from one of Austin's greatest live performers and a noble cause, this is a night of inspiration you won't soon forget.

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Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.