Sara Gasbarra

Chicago native, Sara Gasbarra, is the founder and lead garden girl of Verdura, a full service garden design company that cultivates culinary gardens for Nashville chefs, restaurants and hotels including The Catbird Seat, Bastion, Henrietta Red, Nicky's Coal Fired, JW Marriott Nashville and private gardens for Chef Julia Sullivan, Chef Sarah Gavigan... and Chef Charity Morgan. She has previously worked with Park Hyatt Chicago, Chicago Athletic Association Hotel, Hilton Chicago and Palmer House Hilton before moving her business to Tennessee. Sara specializes in creating a season-long garden plan specifically tailored to the needs of a restaurant kitchen, sourcing unique and rare varieties of plants and vegetables, organic growing practices, custom designed irrigation systems and urban farming in unconventional spaces. Her kitchen plots have been featured in several publications including Martha Stewart Living, Saveur, Eating Well, Rodale's Organic Life, Chef's Roll, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Tasting Table, Crains Chicago Business and Gardenista. In 2018, Sara was honored by Chicago Woman magazine as one of Chicago's most influential women in food. She was also featured in New City's "The Big Heat: Chicago's Food & Drink 50" in both 2013 and 2017 and by Zagat in "The 11 Chicago Food Specialists You Need to Know." In addition, Sara has provided in depth garden expertise for and lead interactive workshops with The Culinary Institute of America, P. Allen Smith, Taste Talks, Slow Food USA, IDEO, Google, Chicago Ideas Week, DIFFA "Dining By Design" and Soho House. In 2010, Sara founded an auxiliary board for Green City Market, Chicagos largest, year-round farmers market, serving as its chairman for four years and launched her green career as the Project Manager of the markets "The Edible Gardens", the citys premiere 5,000 sq. ft. educational vegetable garden run in partnership with Lincoln Park Zoo. She has also served as Vice President for Slow Food Chicago's Board of Directors. Her inspiration for cultivating ...Read More