There is a growing craze that is a twist on a traditional restaurant dinner. Known as a “farm dinner,” the concept is a modern take on an old idea: eating food that was grown right there on the ground on which you’re standing, served by the hands that tended the soil, prepared the dish or made the wine.
Mrs. B and I were fortunate enough to partake in the excellent “Outstanding in the Field” farm dinner on a recent Saturday at Rio Gozo Farm in Ojai. OITF, founded by noted artist and Renassiance man Jim Denevan, has grown from a few dinners per year to nearly 100 in the US. They’ve even expanded into Europe.
It’s a thoroughly unique experience.
There are traditions.
The dinner is outside, in the fields.
Patrons bring their own plates.
OITF arrives in a large bus and brings linens, chairs and table to seat about 200 diners.
The table is generally hidden and revealed later in the evening.
The farmer gives background on the farm and food.
Seating is tight and communal.
A local chef cooks and his/her restaurant provides service on site.
Wine is paired and served by a local winemaker, made from grapes from a local vineyard.
Lighting is natural and dinner ends at sunset.
All who contribute to the meal, from beginning to end, are thanked by the patrons.
But unlike a restaurant experience where consistency is prized, each farm dinner is different – leveraging the food and talents that are distinctive to the area.
Interactions with farmer, winemaker, chef, Jim and fellow diners are intimate.
Everyone who partakes is genuinely passionate about the event.
Despite being a new and entirely different experience, it was unexpectedly comfortable – almost like attending a wedding, where all in attendance share a common bond: food and the ideas behind the farm-to-table concept.
The food was, in a word, incredible.
Rio Gozo farmer John Fonteyn provided fennel, avocados, tangerines, squash, carrots, beets and mulberries that integrated beautifully in Chef Tim Kilcoyne‘s menu. There wasn’t even a hint of chloride in the berries!
Tickets are exclusively sold online and they go quickly. The Ojai dinner sold out within 15 minutes of release (we were fortunate to procure the last two!).
Fonteyn said it best: “We want to show you that great food is more than just picking a good restaurant.” In SCV’s sea of chain restaurants, that’s a surprisingly encouraging thought.
My brother went to a recent OITF farm dinner that was hosted by Santa Monica’s community gardens and it got me thinking: perhaps this is one use for our own fledgling community gardens that were announced this week. We just need a world class chef, a fitting venue (Lombardi Ranch?) and a few interested parties. Think of it. A farm dinner, right here in Ess-Sea-Veee, on our own steam without the crutch of our VeCo neighbors.
Here’s to the start of something beautiful with our Community Gardens project.
And thank you Jim, Leah, Tim, John and team for an amazing dinner. It was inspiring.
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JEALOUS!
My wife and I have been trying to get to one of these up in Paso Robles (our favorite wine appellation) and can never catch one…. its always sold out!
Hope the clowns from the health dept don’t catch on to this.
If they’re on top of their game (and something tells me they are) they get a one-day catering permit. I get them often for the car shows I promote. Pay a fee, sign off that you’ll keep the cold stuff @ 40 and the hot stuff at 140, and you’re good to go. They say they might come out to inspect, but they rarely do.
They’ve always required a serving area totally enclosed with hand washing stations and netting or whatnot.
Great post.
From Google Maps, it looks like there’s some big patches of farmland near (on?) the CLWA property above Central Park. What’s the deal with that? Anyone?
We used to get our corn stalks for Halloween up there.
this is just one more step to having the hippies take over and we can’t have that!
Seriously, looks for cool…kinda of a nice twist on the cafe 150 concept. ND, how much was the dinner per person?
mikec, the website says $200/person.
Can you get fries with that?
Can it be supersized??
Wow! How incredible and beautiful and yummy, but I fear pricey. The “ends at sunset” is the perfect touch…
Well everyone that attended are obviously passionate if they paid $200 each and had to sit on a bus through the winding mountains in order to attend. That is pretty steep.
You are paying for the experience, for sure, and if given the chance, I think I’d do it.
but…
I think your number is off. Have a look at the menu of the chef’s restaurant, and you’ll see something comparable costs quite a bit less.