One of our most beautiful table sites. Last year was our first visit to the Hearst Ranch. Two consecutive nights brought extraordinary weather and views — warm, windless skies and a historic castle in the golden hour. As we have often experienced in Big Sur and elsewhere, the higher coastal elevation presents both a view of the Pacific and fog that arrives in the evening, pooling below the table as we float on a cloud. Needless to say, it’s quite the place to dine. And guest chef Julien Asseo will cook up quite the meal to match the scenery. Julien grew up on a vineyard in France and has worked in a number of impressive kitchens in Paris, L.A. and Las Vegas, including Michelin-starred Restaurant Guy Savoy where he climbed the ladder to Executive Chef. In 2019, he and his wife Courtney opened Les Petites Canailles, their celebrated farm-to-table French bistro in downtown Paso Robles. His Fall feast is bound to feature some French flavors and technique, plus plenty of pastured beef from Hearst Ranch.
Taxonomy: 2022 Tour
Hearst Ranch
Here, at one of the biggest of ranches in the USA at 83,000 acres, there is a stunning range of places to set a table, from the ocean side to the mountain top. Steve’s close friends Jim and Debi Saunders of Hearst Ranch Winery will share their award-winning vintages. We are honored that the Hearst family reached out and invited us to this historic property. It’s a gorgeous place, and we’re thrilled to return, this time with guest chefs Jeff and Janet Olsson of Industrial Eats. This will be their second appearance this tour, after having worked their magic in the field kitchen at Gainey Vineyard in July. Lucky for us, this husband-and-wife chef team keeps returning to cook for us. They’re masters of the wood-burning oven and good friends with a slew of sustainable farms, foragers and fisherpeople across the Central Coast which they’ll source from for the menu.
Wattles Farm
Even native Los Angelenos don’t know about this place. Who would ever think a secret urban garden exists a few blocks from Hollywood Boulevard, just around the corner from the famous handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Wattles Farm is a busy hive of activity – a patchwork of garden plots tended by neighborhood farmers sharing tools and tips. We love it here. And we love Chef Gladys Nyoth. Gladys first charmed us with her bubbly personality and French accent when she toured with OITF a few years ago. And then we learned she can cook! Gladys wowed us last year, and she’ll bring the vibrant flavors of West Africa once again to our table at Wattles Farm.
Big Sur Secret Location
The hilltop table set above the clouds in Big Sur is an extraordinary and unforgettable experience. Anticipation builds during the steep climb to the dinner site. Upon arrival, the effort is well rewarded. High on the ranch, vistas in every direction reveal the sources of our meal: fishing boats working the cold offshore waters; cattle happily munching abundant grasses; the foraging grounds of forest and shore. Chef Jacob Burrell of Niner Wine Estates will helm the field kitchen, gathering everything he knows and loves about Big Sur right there on the plate.
Bonton Farms
We were slated to go to Bonton for the first time in 2020 with Chef Chad Houser lined up for the field kitchen. That didn’t happen. When the bus finally rolled into town last year, it was such a fabulous experience, we knew we wanted to do it again. You’re invited to mosey on over for a delicious dinner and a big dose of inspiration. Daron Babcock and son Beau run a 40-acre organic farm in the low-income area of South Dallas that was once a food desert. The farm also brings seeds of change to the community with education programs that address health, personal finance, and housing challenges, all designed to disrupt the long-standing cycle of poverty in Bonton. Café Momentum also started from an altruistic idea; it’s a non-profit restaurant and professional training facility that works with young men and women exiting juvenile detention. Chef Chad is known for his can-do demeanor and signature dish: smoked fried chicken. Not to mention charcuterie, cheeses and vinegars, all made in-house by hardworking interns. Come for a good time you can feel seriously good about.
Blackwood Educational Land Institute
Blackwood is a non-profit, 33-acre teaching farm with a variety of crops, medicinal herbs, laying hens, and honey bees. Their mission is to model how regenerative agriculture practices can positively impact the planet and improve our food system. Blackwood serves local youth through summer camps and field trips while hosting workshops, tours, and weekly volunteer events for the community. We will honor that important work with a meal from guest chef Justin Yu and his superstar team at Houston’s Hotel Lucine, Squable, Theodore Rex and Better Luck Tomorrow. His three restaurants are some of Houston’s very best — known for elevated European-American menus with creative twists, locally sourced ingredients and award-winning cocktails. Over the years, they’ve won a long list of accolades from Bon Appetit, Food & Wine and James Beard. Big talent in the field kitchen at this supremely inspiring place.
Blackwood Educational Land Institute
Night two at this inspiring 33-acre educational farm where host farmer Cath Conlon and her team tend to a variety of vegetables, fruits, laying hens and apiaries. The farm calls itself a “living laboratory,” using restorative agriculture practices to find the essential balance between land preservation and food production. Blackwood serves local youth through summer camps and field trips while hosting workshops, tours, and weekly volunteer events for the community. Our farm tour will tell you even more. Guest chef Dawn Burrel will cook the evening’s meal in the field. Dawn is an Olympic-athlete-turned-chef. In 2000, she competed in the Summer Olympics as a long jumper representing Team USA. In 2021, she competed on Bravo’s Top Chef. After traveling the world with the USA’s Track & Field team, she worked in a slew of celebrated Texas kitchens including Uchi and Kulture. Her newest venture Late August opens in Houston this summer — with a menu that aims to “bring the soul of Afro-Asian flavors to the table.”
Malibu Pier
This iconic pier on the Malibu coast was built in 1905 and is a well-loved landmark of California surf culture. It’s also quite a lovely place to dine. From the table, you’ll enjoy panoramic views of sparkling blue ocean waters and the golden hills of Malibu, complemented by a soundscape of splashing waves and seabirds. An iconic pier deserves an iconic team of culinary superstars. Antonia Lofaso and Brooke Williamson have long lists of culinary achievements under their belts, including both rising to the top tiers of Top Chef in their respective seasons and helming successful Los Angeles-based restaurants. And Chris Tompkins is the founder of Broad Street Oyster Co., a roving raw bar restaurant pumping out world famous lobster rolls and other seafood-centric goods. Together, they’ll craft a delectable menu on the pier featuring peak-season produce from nearby Southern California farms and a bounty of finned and shell-clad seafood harvested from the bounteous waters of the Pacific.
TerraPurezza at Luck, Texas
Bring your bandanas. Luck is Willie Nelson’s place. Usually folks come here to listen to great live music. We’re beyond tickled to bring our table to the Farm Aid pioneer’s own spread to celebrate what ranchers Tina and Orion are doing here – proving that regenerative farming techniques can work with modern technology to grow good food at scale and maintain harmony with the native habitat. Ranchers Tina and Orion Weldon founded TerraPurezza in 2015 on 5 acres of family land. In 2020, Willie Nelson’s wife Annie invited them to move onto the 500-acre Luck Ranch. The ranch is now home to heritage breed pigs adapted to Texas’ hot weather; Freedom Ranger broiler chickens and laying hens; and Dorper sheep that are doing their very important part in regenerating the rangeland. Guest chef Julien Hawkins knows just what to do with all the nutritious and delicious meat raised on the ranch. He’s the former chef behind Hestia, an award-winning modern grillhouse in Austin specializing in local meat, fish and vegetables cooked over a 20-foot live-fire hearth. This will be a feast to remember beneath the wide-open Lonestar sky.
Thorne Family Farm
Larry Thorne’s farm in the Malibu hills produces an abundance of vegetables, fruits, berries and flowers. Look one way and you’ll see several kinds of citrus. Turn around and you’ll find vegetables of every variety. Then there’s the bountiful fields of Larry’s famous strawberries. Thorne Family Farm is a chef’s dream — particularly for chef Jared Simons, who runs the kitchen at the popular plant-based L.A. eatery Nic’s on Beverly. “Nic” is Nic Adler, the man behind the great food program at Coachella and other music happenings, who we met when Outstanding started doing events at the annual festival. Nic’s been a plant-based event organizer and activist for 15 years and we are thrilled to collaborate with him once again for our vegan feast in the field.