It’s a rare opportunity to gather in one restaurant and enjoy specialty dishes sourced from the Island by seven distinct chefs. All of which are, by the event’s design, also cookbook authors. And for these cooks, the stories are as important as the recipes.

They weren’t on the farm, out at sea, behind the line or in their home kitchens.

For the first time, Island authors Susie Middleton, Catherine Walthers, Melinda Fager, Jessica B. Harris and Robert Lionette all had lunch together. And they did so with 70 other people.

On Monday, July 14, forget the beach for a few hours and head to Lola’s Southern Seafood for a special five-course lunch tasting with recipes from six different Island chefs.