EAT & EVOLVE SERIES 2026
DIFFERENT CHEFS,
DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS,
DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES,
ALL CONNECTED.
A note from Sebastian:
In the past, Eat & Evolve was a chefs tasting experience.
A room full of people, moving, tasting, meeting one another through food.
There was a lot of energy in that. A lot of beauty.

And still, something didn't feel complete.

Not because it wasn't good,
but because it ended.

Our work has never really lived in a single moment.
It lives in what happens when people come back.
When something builds.
When a relationship has time to take shape.

So this year, we're doing something different.

Eat & Evolve is becoming a series of gatherings across the year.

Not one night, but many.
Not one room, but different spaces.
Different chefs, different conversations, different communities.
All connected.

Some will look like dinners.
Some will feel like conversations.
Some will be playful.
Some will be quiet.

All of them are rooted in the same thing:
creating space where people can come together, share something real,
and leave a little more connected than they arrived.

This feels closer to how we actually move.
Closer to the work.
Closer to what we're trying to build.

You don't have to catch everything.
Just find your way into one of them.

Immersive, chef-driven celebrations of food,
healing, and transformation
Eat & Evolve 2026 Series Events
  • July 25, 2026
    Podcast Panel Event at Just Roots
  • SPIN Paddle Battle Fundraiser
  • Q3 TEN Featured' Dinner
  • TEN Featured' Dinner at PQM
  • Q4 Online Auction For an In-home Dinner
  • December 2, 2026
    Q4 Giving Day
OUR BEST SHOT AT CHANGE IS TOGETHER
Choice highlights our freedom as human beings. In every choice there are possibilities and limitations. The Evolved Network strives to show our kids that their possibilities outweigh their limitations. Food is the perfect teacher for this. Through food we can heal, sustain, connect, nurture, challenge, educate, create, comfort, understand, sit with, fight for, encourage, bring together, care for, inspire, and love.
OUR CHEFS SAY
"Sebastian provides a safe space where “our kids” can heal. Using food, farming, and accessibility to expand their perception of choice, their value, and sense of belonging. The Evolved Network is redefining accessibility as not something reactive, but as something that fights oppressive systems and that is sustainable and transformative for our kids. We all can make a difference, an impact by supporting The Evolved Network. We contribute to the success of the lives of “our kids”.

Chef Sarah Stegner

OUR KIDS SAY:

"Sebastian you should serve what we created in your restaurant, and we better get credit."

-student at Pulaski International


"I really like this salad can you bring us the recipe so I can make it at home with my mom."

-student at The Montessori School of Englewood


"Dear Sebastian, Thank you for teaching me how to make new recipes through out this year. I have enjoyed math more since I transferred. I will definitely plan on using these recipes."

-student at Pulaski International

OUR FUNDERS SAY:
"This is what strikes me as special about The Evolved Network. When they talk about access to healthy food they mean even more than availability of fresh produce in the neighborhood, or a new grocery store. They mean the kind of tactile experience that makes children curious about a wide range of the foods of the world from the Black diaspora to French Haute Cuisine, and not just curious but participatory. Because the whole thing belongs to them as much as anyone. Knowledge, comfort, familiarity. The vision of The Evolved Network includes raising up young folks who are adept in the kitchen, and who expect healthy, seasonal ingredients. It also includes comfort in restaurants, while traveling, and as a citizen of the world."

Clare Butterfield

Executive Director, Christopher Family Foundation

OUR TEACHERS SAY:
"Sebastian offers something quite unique and necessary to our students' holistic well-being; an opportunity to make stronger connections to themselves, each other, and their families through cooking. He offers a variety of hands-on culinary experiences tailored to their interests and cultures and takes his time establishing trusting relationships, never forcing the students to engage before they feel ready. He truly meets the kids where they're at and accepts them, which they can sense. The result is that students become gradually more confident not just in the kitchen, but in sharing their perspectives and using their voices. I highly recommend collaborating with Sebastian; your young people will greatly benefit."

~Kat Henry,

CLC Principal Resident and former Special Education teacher at Pulaski International

Sponsorship Opportunities Available.
Please contact us via info@theevolvednetwork.org
EAT & EVOLVE THROUGH THE YEARS
Each year, Eat & Evolve has grown as a chef-led experience rooted in purpose — uplifting youth, celebrating culinary creativity, and honoring the healing power of food and connection.