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Blooming flowers, bountiful rows of vegetables and fruits, gorgeous green fields laced with corn, cover crops and wildflowers. This 40-acre farm in Bucks County is a dreamy place to dine. A place like this deserves two nights — it’s our tenth year coming to Blooming Glen, afterall. And host farmers Tom and Tricia feel like family. On this night, we welcome back guest chef George Madosky for a second evening in the field kitchen, making this our first double header with a chef this year.

OITF’s first event on a New Jersey beach! Our guest chefs will gather their harvest from the fields of the Garden State and seafood from the Atlantic Ocean to create the meal for our table on this stunning stretch of sand surrounded by soaring seabirds and sparkling seas. Island Beach State Park encompasses ten miles of sandy beaches, rolling dunes, forests and marshes, plus an extensive wildlife population and hundreds of plant species. Needless to say, it’s quite the spot to dine al fresco. Chefs Ashley and Chris opened Black Eyed Susans back in 2010, where they quickly gained a following for their house-made pastas, pizzas, and seafood dishes among locals and summer vacationers. Dishes change seasonally depending on what’s available from their roster of local farmers and fisherpeople — so we’re very excited to see what they cook up with the region’s late summer bounty. If you’re a fan of OITF founder Jim Denevan’s artwork, don’t miss this one! Jim will create one of his monumental 3D sand sculptures near the table.

As food writer Florence Fabricant of the New York Times recently wrote: “California and South Carolina are the usual sources for American-grown rice, but you can add New Jersey to the list.” Blue Moon Acres grows rice using the Korean Farming Method. At its heart, it’s all about the microbiology of the soil. You’ll have to come to New Jersey to see what that entails, and why it’s such an excellent approach to healthful farming. Along with many varieties of rice, host farmers Jim and Kathy Lyons grow several types of salad greens and microgreens, so guest chef Alex Spitale will have plenty of quality ingredients to work with. Perhaps he’ll be inspired to create a fabulous Blue Moon risotto or paella. Our mouths are watering already.

Rice in New Jersey? Yep, it grows here at Blue Moon Acres farm in the rural eastern edge of the Garden State, along with a diverse salad bowl of micro-greens. Jim and Kathy started farming here in 1992 and soon thereafter sold their crop to their first restaurant customer in New York. Things just grew from there. What started as a backyard operation is now a 63-acre organic farm planted to micro and mezza greens, all manner of vegetables and several varieties of rice. That’s music to the ears of guest chef Sam Freund, whose New American restaurant White Birch is deeply committed to sourcing seasonal ingredients from local farms like Blue Moon. Sam’s a New Jersey native and a French-trained chef who worked in celebrated kitchens across the U.S. including Eleven Madison Park in NYC and TAG Burger Bar in Denver before opening his locally sourced sandwich spot Slamwich Scratch Kitchen and the more upscale White Birch. This is our first time hosting Sam in the field kitchen — join us in welcoming him to the culinary circus.

We’ve been coming to this 40-acre farm in beautiful Bucks County since 2011. The place is overflowing with fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs, and our table here is often one of the biggest of the season. Farmers Tom and Tricia have lovingly tended this land since 2006, using sustainable and organic farming practices that enrich the soil and make for some very sweet and delicious produce. And Tom gives one of the best farm tours — he’s hilarious and the jokes keep coming at the table. This year, we welcome guest chef George Madosky to the field kitchen. He’s the Chef de Cuisine at Fork, a Philadelphia institution that’s been forking out farm-to-table menus far before it was cool. We know he’ll be in heaven at Blooming Glen — especially in September, when late summer tomatoes, peppers and zucchini coincide with early autumn roots and squashes.

Brooklyn Grange is one of the first rooftop farms in the country. And this 3.2-acre Sunset Park location is their newest venture — where an abundance of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and honeybees is paired with a particularly spectacular view of Lady Liberty. Brooklyn Grange operates some of the world’s largest rooftop soil farms, producing over 100,000 pounds of organic vegetables each year for the New York City community and donating over 30% of their produce to individuals in need. It’s both a very impressive operation—and Kyrelle Leefatt and Pedro Arvizu of 1:1 Foods are an equally impressive pair of chefs. Brooklyn Grange introduced us to 1:1 Foods, a culinary social enterprise focused on community-led food justice through collaborative events, catering and community gatherings. They source locally from farms like The Grange, paying particular attention to businesses who use regenerative growing practices and pay fair wages, all while investing 100% of their profits back into grassroots food justice work. Kyrelle is a Brooklyn native who helmed the kitchen at The Meat Hook and Threes Brewing before taking the role as 1:1’s Culinary Director, where he crafts menus with international flavors and techniques inspired by his childhood in Bed Stuy. Pedro Arvizu is 1:1’s COO as well as a talented pastry chef who will cook the evening’s seasonal dessert. You can expect a stunning summer meal to match the scenery.