The Gathered Table Wants to Cook for the Country

Two friends and chefs are working to launch a mobile dining experience. David Haddad and Kealan O'Boyle are behind The Gathered Table, a pop-up dining spot on the Cape that features seasonal, local, and foraged ingredients in a seven-course tasting menu.

Haddad co-founded The Gathered Table in 2013 as a way to connect communities with their surrounding food sources. Now, he and O'Boyle want to take this concept on the road, bringing the same experience to people across the country. They have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fundraise for a mobile commercial kitchen and portable dining room. They have already raised more than $8,000 of their $42,000 goal.

The Gathered Table works with local farmers, fisherman, and other producers to craft its tasting menu and has served more than 100 dinners in New England.

"We want to raise awareness for local ingredients, and connect the community with agriculture, food, and artisans," Haddad and O'Boyle wrote on their Kickstarter page.

With a mobile kitchen, they will be able to travel between their bases — Cape Cod and Kansas City — acquainting themselves with the communities they visit and the local food sources. Haddad and O'Boyle share years of experience in restaurants across the country. They create visually appealing dishes, like broiled oyster with Meyer lemon chili butter, fermented corn, chive; corn-filled tortellini with Michelada sabayon and fermented radish salsa; and even a foie gras Twinkie with Japanese wine berry and fennel pollen.