This weekend I had the good fortune of eating dinner at the Love is Love Farm in Douglasville, GA at an event put on by the good people of Outstanding in the Field. Chef Kevin Gillespie of The Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, and of current Top Chef fame was presiding over the outdoor kitchen, which was no small feat considering the flood warning style rain we were all enduring to be there.
For those who don’t know, as worded by the founder, Jim Denevan, “Outstanding in the Field is a roving culinary adventure - literally a restaurant without walls. Since 1999 we have set the long table at farms or gardens, on mountaintops or in sea caves, on islands or at ranches. Occasionally the table is set indoors: a beautiful refurbished barn, a cool greenhouse or a stately museum. Wherever the location, the consistent theme of each dinner is to honor the people whose good work brings nourishment to the table.
Ingredients for the meal are almost all local (sometimes sourced within inches of your seat at the table!) and generally prepared by a celebrated chef of the region. After a tour of the site, we all settle in: farmers, producers, culinary artisans, and diners sharing the long table.”
Our mission is to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.”
Farmers Judith Winfrey and Joe Reynolds operate Love is Love Farm which “focuses on heirloom and endangered vegetable varieties, and employs soil-based agricultural practices, such as continuous crop-rotation, cover cropping and labor-intensive hand weeding to cultivate the best and healthiest vegetables. All fertility and soil amendments are composed of natural sources. We believe that a direct relationship with customers and transparent growing practices are the most assured ways to preserve the safety of our food supply and protect our community as well as the environment.”
After a quick stop to Target to find Wellington boots (I have to say, I do love the rubber boots and fancy dress combo) Ryan and I wended our way to the farm, and moseyed around for an hour checking out the beautifully blooming Okra field, watching the hens in the “boudoir” section of the pen clucking and preening one another.
Just before dinner time, Joe gave us a tour of the premises, explaining his rejection of the USDA organic certification, holding himself to a higher standard, of personal conscience, synergistic practices and clean, conscientious growing, harvesting and replenishment. He has started a stunning and challenging shitake farm, and grows the most elegant Zinnias. In addition they produce an array of salad greens, aubergines, squash, beans, pears, honey, seasonal fruits, broccoli rabes, and on and on.
Finally we were seated to dinner inside the barns, alas, the rain would not abate. But it was stunning: a sultry mist in the air, and a glow of setting sun behind clouds. Everything was delectable, each course paired with a suitable wine. Every dish had a story, a provenance and description far more poetic and intriguing that an airplane ride from Chile. We got tipsy and got to know our table companion’s stories from Dublin to London to South Carolina.
It was an enchanting night. It felt adventurous and sophisticated at once, and it’s inspiring to see an idea so whimsical, become a meaningful and rooted way of spreading good food, good sense and good conscience.
-Camilla
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