Into the Kelp Forest

An immersive culinary journey for all your senses

August 8, 2026 | 5:00–8:00 PM | Olivewood Gardens, National City

Explore the local San Diego kelp forest through food and art, where we bring the gallery to the dining table. The multi-course menu takes you through the forest, with each course inspired by a different layer.

The Descent

An evening built around one of the ocean's most extraordinary ingredients. Our Collective Foods brings together The Smith Seaweed Ecology Lab of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, The Cultured Abalone Farm, ESTE Tea, and artist Oriana Poindexter for Into the Kelp Forest, a gathering where the Pacific sets the table: seaweed in forms you haven't tasted, ranched Santa Barbara uni, beverage pairings built for the evening, summer produce from Olivewood Gardens, and an immersive installation that turns the room into the forest itself.

Guests weave through an immersive art installation of cyanotype-printed kelp forest silk panels, by photographic artist and marine biologist Oriana Poindexter,whose work has been published by Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Local San Diego seaweed for the menu comes from The Smith Seaweed Ecology Lab of Scripps Institution of Oceanography'sown research on how how kelp forests grow, struggle, and recover along our coast, alongside real specimens from the ecosystem you're eating from.

We invite you to slow down and let the evening unfold in layers. It begins with a cocktail hour among the gallery installation, moves into a farm tour of Olivewood Gardens, and settles into a dining experience built to feel like you're descending through water.

What You'll Eat and Drink

Inspired by local San Diego seaweed and peak summer produce sourced directly from Olivewood Gardens, Our Collective Foods has created a multi-course experience of creative dishes for the evening. We want to highlight the versatility and culinary range of seaweed, and have paired courses to each layer of the kelp forest itself, from the canopy down to the seafloor.

Pairing land and sea, you'll taste unique dishes such as giant kelp-cured yellowtail crudo with raspberry and gochujang, sea lettuce infused cavatelli with thai basil pesto, as well as ranched Santa Barbara uni from The Cultured Abalone Farm.

ESTE Tea will be serving a special welcome drink and unique tea mocktails for the evening.

The Evening

5:00 PM — Arrival at Olivewood Gardens.

5:00-6:00 PM — Cocktail hour with chef's choice appetizers among gallery installation begins.

6:00-6:30 PM — Guided farm tour through the gardens.

6:30–8:00 PM — A multi-course dinner descending through the kelp forest, course by course, story by story.

Limited tickets available. This is a garden setting, so wear shoes you can walk in.

Why This Matters

Kelp forests are one of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, and one of the most overlooked. They feed, shelter, and protect the coast, and they're disappearing. We built this dinner with artists, scientists and farmers who are working to change that, because we think the best way to get people to care about a place is to feed them from it.

Tickets

$120 per guest. Includes full tasting menu and a selection of beverage pairings.

Additional drinks also available for purchase at the event.

Olivewood Gardens
2525 N. Second Street, National City, CA 91950

Questions? hello@ourcollectivefoods.com