A little over a month ago, I had an odd thing happen to me at work — something I'm very grateful for.

As I sat in the break room eating something home-cooked to make my colleagues jealous, a stranger named Greg Menke walked in. Now, when strangers want to talk to me, it's usually either to hang me out to dry, tell me how wrong I am or to remind me when aliens are coming to harvest my organs. Needless to say, I'm typically hesitant around strangers. But lucky for me, Menke did not talk of extraterrestrial that day, and he turned out to be a mighty fine fellow, indeed.

Menke first moved to Santa Fe in 1992 after graduating from Baltimore's International Culinary College. Spending winters in Hawaii and summers in Santa Fe, Menke, a chef and businessman, owns and operates Hospitality Hawaii Services, an operation that furnishes event planning, private chefs and other services from the business' hub in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

Aside from luaus, other well-received components of Menke's island business are its moveable feasts. The feasts on wheels are set up at private homes and include elaborate ethnic meals, wine, conversation and live music on occasion. The venue and theme of each moveable feast is different, but the air of celebration generally remains high at these affairs.

In late June, Menke unveiled Moveable Feast Santa Fe, a new venture that brings the food of the world to doorsteps in the City Different.

The kickoff for the venture came with some disheartening news, however. The casual-dress dinner also was a benefit for Parrish Marcenaro, a native of Peru and a beloved culinary ally of Menke's who most recently served as a butler for Hotel Santa Fe. Battling cancer, Marcenaro was the guest of honor, and proceeds from the dinner sales benefited his fight to slay the Big C.

Among those on hand to assist Menke in the kitchen with a Peruvian-inspired dinner was Santa Fe's own Rocky Durham — former culinary director of the Santa Fe School of Cooking, food writer and chef about town. Trays of frothy pisco (Peruvian brandy) sours were passed around on the patio of the beautiful home of Patti and Chris Webster, who are partners, along with their son, Christopher Webster III, in Webster Enterprises.

The dinner was a success, both in the food and turnout (about 50 people attended). We feasted on fried yucca with queso fresco sauce; turbot and corvina tiradito (think ceviche) with huge kernels of Peruvian corn, aji chiles and lime; a dramatic, semideconstructed twist on chicken and seafood causa (much like a stuffed mashed potato terrine) with potatoes, lime, cilantro, avocado, green-chile mustard and Peruvian olives; traditional lomo saltado (sirloin marinated in soy sauce, chiles, onions and spices); and puffy squash fritters served with a salpicon of anise-scented figs.

During dinner, the guest of honor, surrounded by friends and family, gave a speech that helped me once again comprehend the power that food wields in bringing people — even complete strangers — together for a much greater reason than the meal itself. If I had strayed too far from the principles of cooking with love and sharing food with others, then on that night, Marcenaro brought me back home. I left with a warm belly and a warm heart, and it's a night I won't soon forget.

Sadly, on July 3, Marcenaro lost his battle with cancer. He left behind numerous family members and friends who loved him dearly. He also earned the deepest respect of someone who only had the pleasure of knowing him for the duration of a beautiful, slow-moving Northern New Mexico sunset. It is because of our brief acquaintance that every meal I have cooked and eaten since that night has been approached with a deeper sense of purpose.

I suppose I have another stranger to acknowledge. Thanks Greg Menke, and welcome back to Santa Fe.

There are plans for more moveable feasts in Santa Fe in the future, and Menke, going back to his island roots but with a regional twist, is cooking up a Santa Fe luau to be announced soon. His moveable feasts generally run around $75 per person. To keep apprised of upcoming feasts, check out http://moveablefeastsantafe.com or follow Santa Fe Moveable Feast on Facebook.

Contact Rob DeWalt at taste@sfnewmexican.com. or on twitter at twitter.com/sfnmTASTE.