The UC Davis Good Life Garden, located at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, will host its debut event featuring David Howard, Prince Charles' former head gardener and one of the world's foremost experts on organic and sustainable horticulture, Saturday, Sept. 27.

Registration for the public event will begin at 4:30 p.m. at UC Davis' Sciences Lecture Hall. The program will last from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., including a "Taste of the Region" food sampling. Program information and tickets, costing $75 per person, are available through the Good Life Garden Web site at: http://www.goodlifegarden.ucdavis.edu/events.

In addition to Howard, guest speakers will be author and food historian Ethne Clarke, discussing the evolution of the kitchen garden from the late medieval period to the 19th century, and local author, cooking school owner and Slow Food leader Georgeanne Brennan.

Brennan will speak at 5 p.m., discussing how to create and maintain a kitchen garden that is both aesthetically pleasing and productive year-round.

Clarke will speak at 5:30 p.m. about contemporary home food production from a historical standpoint.

The 6 p.m. "Taste of the Region" will feature a wide array of regional farm-raised and handcrafted foods, wine and beer. Attendees will taste products ranging from heirloom tomatoes and wine grapes to caviar, cheeses, bread, chocolate and smoked fish.

At 7 p.m., horticultural expert Howard will discuss the gardens at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, England, Prince Charles' private residence.

The Robert Mondavi Institute's Good Life Garden celebrates the relationship between good food and good health by linking the culinary arts, nutrition, and wine and food sciences in an academic setting. It will offer year-round public events, workshops, internships and volunteer opportunities.