Tower Bridge dinner marks 10 years with another dazzling dining experience
SACRAMENTO - It was a major milestone for the annual Tower Bridge Dinner. The unique event where they trade in traffic for a sit-down meal on the bridge, is now marking ten years.
It's been a decade with never too many cooks in the kitchen. Over the years, they've had 200 chefs and more than a thousand servers helping serve up something memorable.
"I saw them preparing it this afternoon. Everything looks really good. When you look at that menu, when you walk in the kitchen, it smells wonderful so I don't think people will be disappointed," said Mike Testa, CEO and president of Visit Sacramento, the group organizing the event.
Each year, Sacramento's famed Tower Bridge shuts down to traffic so hundreds can enjoy a bridge-top dinner overlooking downtown and the American River. The event hinges on locally-grown food prepared by some of the top chefs in the region and the world.
"The local figs being perfect in season, the arugula handling that heat wave, it was a perfect storm of right," said Allora Chef Derek Sawyer.
Sawyer is one of the chefs who has been working with local farmers since January to craft a menu with ingredients they'd be able to grow enough of and in time for the event.
"For the most part, we just want to make sure everything is super tasty. It reminds people where we're from and really gives a shout-out to these farmers," said Sawyer.
The first Tower Bridge Dinner was held in 2013. Now 10 years later, it's grown into a one-of-a-kind event drawing people from around the country.
"We have national journalists sitting on this bridge. In the past we've had New York Times Magazine, GQ Magazine, so it's a really nice postcard for Sacramento," said Testa.
Tickets aren't easy to snag. In July, there was a random drawing that gave the winner a chance to purchase two tickets for $600. The proceeds go toward scholarships for children of migrant farm workers at Sac State. It also helps fund the Farm-to-Fork Festival.