Regions: Canada

We have been setting our table at farms around British Columbia for more than ten years. Over that time, we’ve been told ‘’you should head out to Salt Spring Island’’ more than quite a bit. We finally listened. The crew at Hawksworth is coming out to the island with us. Last year they joined us at North Arm Farm in Pemberton for a fabulous event that will be hard to top. (link to readymag) But we know they’ll try. For OITF fans wondering where they should go this year…You should come here! Our dinner site, Bullock Lake Farm, is a small, first-generation family farm specializing in organic produce, flowers and pastured meats. The farm spans 24 acres of rolling pastures, wetlands, historic orchard and forest. Established in the late 1800s, it’s one of the oldest agricultural properties on Salt Spring Island. We can’t wait to be there.

It’s been a few years since we set the long table in lovely Ontario, and what better venue to host our return than a stunning winery and farm just 20 minutes from Niagara Falls. The farm grows grapes, raises animals and grows vegetables. And has a hugely majestic and very old chestnut tree; perhaps we’ll put the table under it. Our guest chef is Ariel Coplan from Toronto’s Thoroughbred. Ariel has cooked and traveled all over the world. We’re excited to see what he creates in the field, and taste the wines that pair perfectly with his dishes.

Potatoes are beautiful. It has probably been said by someone at some time. Maybe that’s why Mr. Potato Head has such a following. The real beauty of potatoes is the potato field, and especially a potato field on a forested island with a view of the water. Then there is the famous beauty of the potato flower and the story of how Sir Walter Raleigh brought potatoes to Queen Elizabeth’s table from the New World. Chef Emily Wells has lived in England, Germany, Sweden, and now Canada. All have a hearty culinary relationship with potatoes. Chef Emily will source from land and sea.

UBC Farm is a beautiful, diverse farm in the heart of Vancouver. UBC Farm supplies fresh produce to area restaurants and to a small, on site farmer’s market. UBC is also a place where student interns dig, plant, and gather knowledge of sustainable agriculture.

Located on scenic Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, farmers Dale Ziech and Donna Denison of Little Creek Gardens will be our hosts. Guest chefs Dana Ewart and Cameron Smith will have a wealth of local products to choose from. We will have bread baked from organic Canadian wheat. The Carmelis family will bring their awesome goat cheeses and goat milk gelato. Wines from and nearby Cedar Creek Estate Winery will round out the menu. Join us at the table for what is certain to be a memorable meal.

Araxi restaurant has been described as the best restaurant in Canada. Nothing like a good recommendation to get dinner plans moving. Outstanding In The Field tour coordinator Leah Scafe hails from B.C. Canada and Leah is excited to show our many Outstanding fans a taste of home. Our local producer is Jordan Sturdy of North Arm Farm located in the scenic Pemberton Valley. Not only is Jordan Sturdy our featured farmer, he is the mayor of nearby Pemberton. Araxi chef James Walt will gather this and all of the B.C  bounty for a locavore feast.

Canada? We are in the neighborhood. Eastern Canada is new for Outstanding in the Field. We have set the table in Western Canada several times. Cowbell looks like a great restaurant (nice name). Very farm-connected with lots of culinary chops. Chef Mark has ‘farmer nights’ in the restaurant. We LOVE the ‘farmer nights’ concept. The idea for Outstanding in the Field was born out of a series of very successful ‘farmer dinners’ in California way back in the late 1990’s. With these dinners the farmer gets a meal prepared by the chef, the farmer gets to talk and the guests learn about where food comes from. Take it all outside and you have Outstanding in the Field. We look forward to setting the table at Dennis and Denise Harrison’s Dingo Farms.

For a number of years our Outstanding in the Field tour has visited University of British Columbia Farm located within the city of Vancouver. After several events UBC Farm director Mark Bomford and the Outstanding in the Field crew at have become good friends. This year we thought we would mix it up and check out a farm in the Fraser Valley just outside the city. Glorious Organics in Aldergrove has a CSA program and also supplies produce to area restaurants including West, whose very talented chef, David Gunawan will join us in the field.

Our first Montreal area event. Market gardener Jean Pierre Bertrand has a very small farm. He is known for growing small scale for discerning Montreal area chefs. If you have dined at Montreal’s best restaurants, now you can get outside and see where it comes from. Jean Pierre will give a thorough tour of the profuse greenery of his back 40 meters before we walk a short distance to gather at our long table. Chef Samuel Pinard of the restaurant La Salle a Manger sent us to gardener Jean Pierre and we will send Samuel out to the field.