After two decades of wearing many hats including several successful restaurant locations under the Simply Red brand, cookbook author and culinary educator, Samantha Buyskes, a South African native, is hoping to bring her signature seasonally focused cuisine and exotic spicing to a mobile kitchen and restaurant based in Ithaca, NY. Buyskes is looking to the community-fundraising platform Kickstarter for help.
The “food bus”, which will offer cooking classes for children and adults and private dinners is striving to raise $40,000 by April 20 in order to cover the cost of converting a bus into a full-fledged mobile kitchen and restaurant. The Kickstarter campaign offers a range of reward packages available to backers, including private dinner parties and cooking lessons.
“Imagine a night where you will be transported on the ‘food bus’, I want to bring my food creativity, adventure, and focus on local ingredients to you,” said Buyskes.
Though Buyskes has seen success as a chef/owner of brick and mortar locations, was a competitor on the popular Food Network program “Chopped”, and is a cookbook author and culinary ambassador for the Finger Lakes, she says a mobile food kitchen will enable her to get back into the kitchen to bring her style of cooking, ingredients and music to your location.
Buyskes’ vision is to provide opportunities for adults and children to learn culinary fundamentals, and to bring the community together to enjoy memorable culinary experiences while showcasing some of the best growers, producers, winemakers, and musicians.
For more information and to support the project, please visit: MamaRedsBus.com
About Samantha Buyskes
Samantha Buyskes, a South African, has been cooking, catering, teaching, leading culinary tours to Italy, and more, for the past twenty years. Her first restaurant was Simply Red Bistro, which opened in Trumansburg, NY, in 2002 and closed in 2012, with additional New York locations at Sheldrake Point Vineyard (2007-2012), La Tourelle Resort & Spa (2009-12), and The Hangar Theatre concessions (2010-2011). The Bistro featured an open kitchen and music venue with a focus on local, seasonal ingredients from NY State and the surrounding region.
Contact:
Samantha Buyskes
Phone: 607-591-1692
E-Mail: mamared@me.com
