Jake dusted off the fanciest duds he has for his East Coast adventure
and did his best Rumplejakeskin for an evening event to raise money for the Edible Schoolyard program in NYC.
The host was fashion designer Lela Rose and her husband Brandon Jones
who opened their TriBeCa loft to chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant (a Jake fav) and guests who each contributed a $1000 to the schoolyard program.Jake's childhood friend designer Sophie Buhai was there as well.
With a table that wowed the crowd, it almost compete with the food for the main attraction.Starting off with radishes dipped in butter, the dinner moved on to Spanish mackerel poached in kalamata olive oil and braised duck legs with lentils, black chickpeas and chanterelles.
Jake took a few minutes to speak to the gathering that raised $120,000 and spoke to a couple of columnist inthe fashion world. What about? Food, family, friends and farming.
He spoke about how family dinners around the table were especially important to him, how they grew food in their garden and shopped at the Farmers Market.
"I got involved because the dinner table was always a place, since I was a young child, where we got to get together, and I actually got to know my family there more than any other place in the world. I grew up growing my own food in our family garden."
And while it was a little upscale in menu selections Jake brought back down to earth with talks about pizza.
"I love going to these schools and making kale pizza with the kids."Jake talked about how important home gardens and farmers market played in his life and how he was a part of the slow food movement growing up without even knowing it.
"I didn't realize that I grew up in the slow food movement. I see children who didn't know any of these things—that they can grow their own food and learn about vegetables when they are at a primary level. It was everything to me, so I wanted to be involved. Since knowing about this organization, I've done everything I can."
Talking more about ESY, he said:“To me, this is a fiercely political topic, even though it seems like an easy one to actually put into practice. Even though an event like tonight’s might seem elitist, it is about incorporating one of the least expensive things you can do. It just takes time, attention and love, which oddly is an incredibly difficult thing for people to do in this world.”
A fashion reporter got a little one on one time with Jake and got a few more insights of the "the sexiest farmer alive". (Like maybe why he makes kale pizza with kids)
"I got involved because the dinner table was always a place, since I was a young child, where we got to get together, and I actually got to know my family there more than any other place in the world. I grew up growing my own food in our family garden. One of my best friends is a farmer. It's been a primary focus of my life. "
And the kale?
Asked what his favorite veggie is, he picks an Italian kale that some may know as black leaf kale.
"I'd say right now, after an extensive search over the years and living the wonderful life that I've had so far, and after tasting many, many vegetables...cavolo nero. It's like a really soft kale. You can eat it any form: cooked, raw..."
And going Green Acres from there it's about farming and one of his best buds Chris.
"I was raised in Los Angeles, but I spent my summers, since I was born, in Martha's Vineyard. My best friend, since we were little kids, lives there, and he's a farmer. His whole family farms. I know it might seem odd, but it's what I love more than anything. Being in gardens have been some of the most wonderful times of my life. Washing lettuce and watching things grow...you feel connected to the world. You'd be hard-pressed to find anything that connects you to the universe in the same way that planting a seed does." 
And their follow up for the friend of farmers:That's so sweet! And now you've got a beard like a real farmer.
Seeds of growth!
A programming note:
See Jake go au natural in a whole different way tonight at 8pm EDT when Love and Other Drugs premieres on HBO.
