Gorgeous and picturesque Nazaré Harbor is the site of our very first Portugal event. Nazaré is famous for having the world’s largest rideable waves nearby, and the adjacent land and waters are home to key ingredients for a sustainable seafood-centric feast. Our guest chef Sebastião Castilho has devoted his adventurous culinary practice to exploring the significant heritage of food in Portugal. With his special portable cooking rig, named “The Trawler,” he has the ability to move about the entire country and realize his culinary aspirations and dreams in just about any kind of location.
Joining us at the event is famed big wave surfer and noted environmentalist João Macedo. João will give an overview of efforts toward environmental preservation and responsible stewardship of fisheries. João is a resident of both California and Portugal, and as a representative of Save the Waves, presents a global and local perspective on environmental issues.
O belo e pitoresco Porto da Nazaré é o local do nosso primeiro evento em Portugal. A cidade da Nazaré é famosa por ter as maiores ondas surfáveis do mundo, e a terra e as águas circundantes fornecem os principais ingredientes para um banquete sustentável centrado no marisco na praia. O nosso chef convidado Sebastião Castilho dedicou a sua prática culinária aventureira à exploração do significativo património gastronómico de Portugal. Com seu equipamento de cozinha portátil especial chamado “The Trawler”, ele tem a capacidade de se movimentar pelo país e realizar suas aspirações e sonhos culinários em praticamente qualquer tipo de local.
Juntando-se a nós para o evento está o famoso surfista de ondas grandes e conhecido ambientalista João Macedo. João dará uma visão geral dos esforços para preservação ambiental e gestão responsável da pesca. João é residente na Califórnia e em Portugal e, como representante da Save the Waves, apresenta uma perspectiva global e local sobre questões ambientais.
This is our first visit to the beautiful Loire Valley, where we will set the table in the verdant grounds of the breathtaking Château de la Bourdaisière, which dates back to the 14th century. This is a place of superlatives, and we’re eager to experience it all. Set in the midst of 136 acres (55 hectares), the castle is a classic limestone block edifice with soaring turrets and spiers. The estate’s extensive parterre gardens are a collection of sculpted topiaries, lush flowerbeds, and bounteous kitchen crops, all laid out in exquisitely intricate patterns that will make OITF founder/artist Jim Denevan deliriously happy. The chateau’s mini-farm is an ambitious experimental project of agroecology, and is home to the National Tomato Conservatory, a unique collection of 700 varieties of tomatoes. The farm will provide ingredients for our table;
***Guests have the opportunity to stay at Château de la Bourdaisière , in one of the hotel’s 29 rooms and apartments. Bookings can be made directly through their website.
This is our first visit to the beautiful Loire Valley where we will set our table in the verdant grounds of the breathtaking Château de la Bourdaisière, which dates back to the 14th century. It’s a place of superlatives, and we can’t wait to experience it all. Set amidst 136 acres (55 hectares), the castle is a classic limestone block building with countless turrets and spiers. The estate’s expansive gardens are a collection of sculpted topiaries, lush flowerbeds, and lush kitchen crops all arranged in exquisitely intricate patterns that will drive OITF founder/artist Jim Denevan delirious. The castle’s mini-farm is an ambitious experimental agroecological project. It houses the National Tomato Conservatory, a unique and amazing collection of 700 varieties of tomatoes. The farm will provide the ingredients for our table; the surrounding vineyards of the Loire Valley will fill our glasses.
***Guests have the option of staying at Château de la Bourdaisière in one of the hotel’s 29 rooms and apartments. Reservations can be made directly on their website.
Our second-ever event in Africa is a very special one. In the field kitchen, we host Chef Fatmata Binta, the passionate woman behind Ghana’s Dine On A Mat, where she cooks up modern interpretations of West African cuisine. Fatmata crafts innovative and interactive menus based on the nomadic traditions of the Fulani people, with a focus on heritage ingredients, sustainability, and female empowerment. For her efforts, Chef Binta has been awarded the 2022 Basque Culinary World Prize, the Nobel Prize of Gastronomy. To celebrate this momentous achievement, she will cook what promises to be an incredible meal in the renowned mango orchards of Hendy Farms, a lush family-owned mango farm in the foothills of the Larteh Mountains. Host farmers Sandra Snowden and Rita Brobey will welcome us to dine amongst their trees heavy with ripening mango during their second of two annual harvests—a benefit of their unique location in Dodowa. Join us for this unique celebration of the vibrant flavors and cultures of West Africa, then explore the streets of Accra and its beaches on the Gulf of Guinea.
A desert oasis in the olive groves, the buzz of a local festival, wafting fragrances in the air, and the dusty green and deep purple olive trees contrasting with the vibrant hues of the nearby city streets…our first table in Morocco will be a paradise to behold. Our guest restaurateur is Mike Richardson from Cafe Clock, named after the centuries old water clock that occupies the facing wall to the Bou Inania Madrasain, in the heart of the ancient city of Fes. The kitchen team at Cafe Clock will guide us on a culinary tour of this profound and magical land, paired with inventive non-alcoholic beverages designed to compliment each course. We’re popping up the table in the olive groves of Noor Fés during their annual olive oil festival. Guests will be granted access to festival programming for the day before sitting down for dinner amongst the Moroccan Picholine olive trees. Dakir and the Amor family stewarded the growth of these trees, with a strong eye on sustainable practices, for over a decade before harvesting their first olive crop. The result is award winning olive oil grown with traditional methods, watered from the springs near the Ain Blouz River. Join us for a day of celebrating the olive tree in this oasis, followed by dinner at the long table, which will be sure to delight with culinary invention and cultural tradition.
A London-focused event has been on the OITF bucket list for quite a while now. And Sitopia Farm is just about the perfect place to do it. This urban farm is close enough to central London to travel by bus, but far enough from the hustle and bustle of The Big Smoke to feel like you’ve escaped to the countryside. Farmer Chloë and her team grow a variety of vegetables, herbs, fruits and flowers using organic regenerative techniques to feed and protect the soil while rendering some very nutritious and delicious produce. At the center of the farm is a mandala garden, in which seasonal vegetables and herbs are planted in a circular plot, directly in line with the Greenwich Mean Time line. We are thrilled to set the table in their beautiful urban gardens, surrounded by a bounty of spring and summer vegetables, young fruit trees, and a few grazing cows and sheep who live next door. The superstar husband-and-wife chef team at Honey & Co will cook the evening’s meal. Since they opened in 2012, they’ve received glowing reviews for their vibrant Middle Eastern food paired with warm, unpretentious hospitality. Sarit and Itamar are supremely welcoming people and highly skilled Israeli-born chefs committed to using the very best ingredients. Collectively, they run three restaurants in London and are the authors of multiple Middle Eastern cookbooks. Prepare to be floored by their seasonal feast in Sitopia’s fields.
Outstanding first brought our long table to France in 2017. We really wanted to go to Burgundy, and Domaine Lebreuil welcomed us with a warm embrace that year, and several summers since. We’ve been pining to get back and can’t wait to see Jean-Baptiste’s friendly face once again. Domaine Lebreuil is an 84 year-old winery with a charming (impressively so) château typical of Burgundy’s small villages. Before we sit down, Jean-Baptiste will take us on a tour of the organic vineyard, where his family has used biodynamic farming practices for over two decades. Guest chef Christophe Ledru grew up north of Paris, enamored of cooking from a young age. After years of hard work, he earned a coveted position in the City of Lights, working with Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée. Subsequently, Christophe brought his knives to L’Auberge des Glazicks, a Relais & Châteaux property in Brittany where he worked with Chef Olivier Bellin to earn two Michelin stars. Now Christophe is in Beaune, the heart of Burgundy, and we are honored to have him in our field kitchen.
Outstanding in the Field a amené notre longue table en France pour la première fois en 2017. Nous voulions vraiment aller en Bourgogne, et le Domaine Lebreuil nous a réservé un accueil chaleureux cet été-là, et plusieurs étés depuis. Nous avons hâte de revenir et hâte de revoir le visage sympathique de Jean-Baptiste. Le Domaine Lebreuil est un domaine viticole de 84 ans avec un charmant (et impressionnant) château typique des petits villages Bourguignons. Avant de nous mettre à table, Jean-Baptiste nous fera visiter le vignoble bio où sa famille pratique l’agriculture biodynamique depuis plus de vingt ans. Le chef invité, Christophe Ledru, a grandi au nord de Paris. Dès son plus jeune âge, il se passionne pour la cuisine. Après des années de travail acharné, il décroche un poste convoité dans la Ville Lumière avec Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée. Ensuite, Christophe a emmené ses couteaux à L’Auberge des Glazicks, une propriété Relais & Châteaux en Bretagne où il a travaillé avec le chef Olivier Bellin pour obtenir deux étoiles Michelin. Aujourd’hui, Christophe vit à Beaune, au coeur de la Bourgogne, et nous sommes honorés de l’avoir dans notre cuisine de campagne.
Gordon Ramsey calls the meat from this farm “the best tasting meat in the world.” On this 500-year-old family farm, host farmer Matt Chatfield is a passionate and conscientious sheep farmer and a staunch supporter of regenerative agriculture. For the last ten years, his Cornwall Project has established working relationships with some of London’s best chefs to shorten their restaurant supply chains and boost the local farming economies. Matt raises beef cattle and “cull yaws” – the Cornish term for retired sheep slaughtered at 5-6 years – and partners with famed butcher Philip Warren to dry-age the meat. We’ll host a tight team of chefs in the field kitchen, including Cornwall native Ben Quinn who brings expertise in wood-fired and outdoor cooking. Longtime OITF friend Adam Dulye will hop the pond to join Ben for a feast that celebrates cull yaw as much as the summer bounty of Southwest England’s vibrant farming community. And Jim plans to do some drawing in the sand along the rugged Cornwall coast.
