Last week, Colin and I had the opportunity to participate in one of the most memorable dinners ever.
The dinner was arranged and conducted by Outstanding in the Field, a tiny company, founded by a chef, whose brother is a pioneering organic grower. His vision was to create a roving restaurant without walls, where guests can enjoy a meal with the farmers, growers, and culinary artisans who grow and work the ingredients, oftentimes in the setting the food is grown.
Our setting was Monteillet Fromagerie
where we were greeted with local wines and small bites near their farmstead cheese shop and tasting room.
Then we were off to meet the goats during milking, learn about the cheesemaking operation,
and to tour Nourish Gardens, nestled amongst Monteillet Fromagerie's 32 acre farmstead, where I was inspired by the clover paths, grown to add nitrogen to the soil, and learned about biodynamic horticulture and agriculture.
The biodynamic grower and keeper of the gardens:
And then it was time to grab a plate and let the feast commence.
The founder:
The breadmaker:
The winemakers (Rulo):
The winemaker (Flying Trout):
The chef (second from right) and crew:
My husband and I were married in the hills just out of Dayton a year ago June. Thank you for sharing this beautiful dinner with us. Dayton is a special place to us. Its wonderful to see you share a wonderful time you had there.
Posted by: KariAnne | July 29, 2011 at 06:56 PM
You had me at "Farm Dinner". :) I'm so glad to learn about this. Thank you for sharing. Maybe next year, i'll make it to one in WA State.
Posted by: LadyJayPee at Eating, Etc | July 29, 2011 at 03:19 PM
You simply took my breath away with these beautiful, sumptuous photos. What a gift to be able to experience your world through this blog. It makes me weak in the knees. *sigh*
Posted by: Swoosie | July 29, 2011 at 12:37 AM
Wow! that is an amazing idea, and the food looks so pure and delicious! And now I am home sick; Dayton is only 30 miles from my hometown. I can smell the sweet fields now!
Posted by: Jenny Boerding | July 28, 2011 at 10:49 PM
Amazing. I am such a fan of Outstanding in the Field. What an amazing venture! Someday I hope to have the chance to go. I recently featured some of their beautiful table settings on my blog here: http://www.ilovefarmweddings.com/2011/06/30/farm-inspiration-beautifully-long-dinner-tables/
All of their dinners are so amazingly picturesque. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Emily
www.ilovefarmweddings.com
Posted by: Emily @ I Love Farm Weddings | July 26, 2011 at 07:21 PM
What a magical setting! That has to be the most interesting post ever. I would love to do something like that, the only thing is here in Oklahoma you would never be able to eat outside in the middle of July at 104 degree temp. But it is something I can dream about. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful dining experience!
Posted by: jackie | July 22, 2011 at 08:28 AM
Good food, good friends in a picturesque setting... delightful!
Posted by: Madge | July 20, 2011 at 09:22 PM
More lovely than I could imagine. I am off to Dayton next week to visit my Mom. So glad everyone can see how delightful that life could be.
xxoo,
Posted by: Lisa Hilderbrand | July 20, 2011 at 08:20 PM
This is how dinner is supposed to be! I'm totally enchanted by it!
Posted by: Debora | July 20, 2011 at 04:36 PM
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I too attended my first OITF farm dinner this year in California - it was outrageous!!
Posted by: kim | July 20, 2011 at 03:09 PM
Wow! What an idea. It looks amazing! Beautiful setting, beautiful photos, beautiful food. I never would have known such a thing existed. Thanks for sharing! I hope to get to experience something like this someday.
Posted by: Jessica | July 20, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Thank you for sharing Serena. I love that it was in the little town of Dayton, WA!!
It looks like such a fun evening.
Posted by: Nancy Gurno | July 20, 2011 at 08:46 AM
I am in love with the idea of this and these photos! Being a farmer myself I wish people would see more often where there food really comes from! Not the local grocery store!!
Posted by: Sandy | July 19, 2011 at 02:51 PM
I adore every single aspect of this post, what a beautiful experience! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: tabitha | July 19, 2011 at 11:47 AM
The dinner looks wonderful! I think people really need to be educated about where their food comes from. This looks amazing!
Posted by: Carol V. | July 19, 2011 at 11:03 AM
What gorgeous photos and what a fantastic time you must have had! I'm from Issaquah and was in Sandpoint when the dinner took place. Saw an advert for it and thought I wonder if there are any tickets left? So sorry I didn't get my act together sooner!
Posted by: Maria | July 19, 2011 at 09:31 AM
Incredible! The dishes look delicious!
Posted by: Vicki K | July 19, 2011 at 09:19 AM
This looks absolutely wonderful. I have heard of this type of dinner but have yet to have the pleasure.
Posted by: Lizzy | July 19, 2011 at 07:24 AM
What a beautiful setting. It looks like a fantastic dinner!!
Posted by: LoriD | July 19, 2011 at 07:00 AM
what an amazing array of beautiful photo's - the dishes are absolutely drool worthy. are any of the recipes available?
Posted by: cathie | July 19, 2011 at 06:50 AM
It is a wonderful idea but unfortunately the cost is way beyond what most folks could afford. There was an Outstanding dinner held nearby but the cost would have amounted to our entire food budget for over a month.
Posted by: Suzanne | July 19, 2011 at 03:05 AM
What a great experience, thanks for sharing, I felt like I was there right with you all. Hugs! Florence
Posted by: Florence Muma | July 18, 2011 at 10:28 PM
Wow! Looks amazing! A lot of work must go into that...
Posted by: Melanie at Country Cottage Living | July 18, 2011 at 07:50 PM
What fun!
Posted by: Jen | July 18, 2011 at 06:03 PM
Very Cool! I love the way they had the table set up. And how did you score a spot at the end {or head} of the table?! Perfect for photo taking:)
Posted by: Nancy~The Wife of a Dairyman | July 18, 2011 at 05:01 PM
What a wonderful way to get together with friends, great scenery and good food of course! Looks like you had a great time Serena...thoroughly enjoyed your blog. Thanks
Posted by: Sandi | July 18, 2011 at 04:56 PM
Oh fun!!! I loved seeing this. We are scheduled to attend their dinner in Vail, CO this week! I've been counting the days. Your experience looked amazing.
Posted by: Lisa | July 18, 2011 at 03:47 PM
oh.my
simply beautiful.
Posted by: marci | July 18, 2011 at 02:07 PM
I've heard about these dinners - lucky you! I am envious of your night!
Posted by: Mary | July 18, 2011 at 12:45 PM
You were in my neck of the woods! I didn't know they were doing farm dinners out here. Fantastic!!
Leanna
Posted by: Leanna | July 18, 2011 at 11:48 AM
Simple and stunning at the same time. What a great idea-having dinner in the area where the food came from---- we are walnut processors...how divine would it be to have dinner in the orchard at spring time!
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: teresa | July 18, 2011 at 11:37 AM
Beautiful. I love events like this. The pictures capture it so well.
Posted by: Stephanie | July 18, 2011 at 11:20 AM
Wonderful!
Posted by: Judy | July 18, 2011 at 10:55 AM
Absolutely fabulous!! Gorgeous setting. Scrumptious food. What a blessing to be able to experience something so grand!
It reminds me of La Boucherie on Vashon Island. Aside from your dinner being in a lovely-er setting, all the rest is the same. The owners of La Boucherie own a family farm called Sea Breeze Farm (http://www.seabreezefarm.net/) and along with what they produce, they are working with other folks on the island to provide a delightful seasonal meal including wine, bread, and cheeses each night at their quaint French inspired restaurant. The restaurant doubles at a butcher as well. The evening we stumbled upon the place their little one was helping Mom take orders and serve food. So sweet! They are very delightful people. Then again, owners of most of these establishments tend to be very sweet and admirable people.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us and for highlighting such a wonderful new trend in sustainability!
Fondly,
Whit
Posted by: Whit | July 18, 2011 at 10:54 AM
Everything about it looks spectacular!!
Posted by: Mona | July 18, 2011 at 10:17 AM
we just attended our 1st "Outstanding in the Field" dinner in Eden, UT last night. WOW.....what an awesome experience!!! Sandhill Farms.....thank you for sharing your farm with us~
Posted by: Holli | July 18, 2011 at 10:15 AM
How truly wonderful!! Our CSA does something similar and I've never gone. Now I HAVE TO GO! Thank you for the inspiration.
Posted by: Green Bean | July 18, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Oh my, Serena! This looks absolutely amazing. I would love to be able to do something like this in a few year when we are on our small farm. Love!!
Posted by: Heidi | July 18, 2011 at 10:07 AM
Truly amazingly Beautiful! The food, table setting, just beautiful!
Posted by: Anna mandarino | July 18, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Perfection! I love the "idea" and how it was implemented. The scenery/setting = you can't get any better than Dayton!
Posted by: LaTeaDah | July 18, 2011 at 10:04 AM
Love! My kind of dinner, and thank you for sharing.
I'm added to my Reluctant Entertainer facebook page right now!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Posted by: Sandy @ RE | July 18, 2011 at 09:59 AM
looks like a dream come true...in food, family and company.
Posted by: marmee | July 18, 2011 at 09:53 AM
Holy cow!!!!!!! My dream is to have a lot of land where my kids and grand babies lived on one end, and we had a little house on the other. In the middle a small gift shop with an attached small cafe that did light breakfast and lunch consisting of things mostly grown in our own garden in the fields between both houses Once or twice a moth we would do a reservation only dinner with family style service and seating under canopies on the property........well, a dream I am trying to work hard and make happen! :) The goal after that would be to go out into the community and find a place to create a community garden to promote organic healthy eating :)
Posted by: Deb Grogan | July 18, 2011 at 09:37 AM
I love love love Monteillet, and this dinner looks fantastic!
Posted by: kristy | July 18, 2011 at 09:37 AM
That looks like an amazing meal Serena! Thank you so much for sharing with us. Very inspiring!
Posted by: Heather | Farmgirl Gourmet | July 18, 2011 at 09:36 AM
Beautiful setting! Thanks for sharing the gorgeous photos! I recently took a food photography class in Seattle, so I loved seeing your food pictures.
Becca
becca-homeiswheremystorybegins.blogpsot.com
Posted by: Becca | July 18, 2011 at 09:19 AM