Powisset Farm is a three centuries-old agricultural landscape dotted with beautifully maintained barns, wooded wetlands, and a lively group of farm animals. It’s the kind of farm where time stops on a mid-Summer day. Take a stroll out to the oak forest or the neighboring hay fields where you might spot a herd of white-tailed deer. Then settle into your seat at the long table for a peak summer feast from guest chef Will Gilson. Will grew up cooking at Herb Lyceum on his family farm in Groton, where he developed a passion for rustic farm-to-table cuisine and fresh herbs. He’s since made a name for himself in Boston with a number of successful restaurant ventures including Puritan & Co, his Modern American bistro in Cambridge featuring locally sourced ingredients from area farms. He’ll pick from Powisett’s bounty for an alfresco meal that perfectly embodies a New England summer.
Taxonomy: 2022 Tour
Hidden Acres Farm
Summer in Door County is a sight to be seen, smelled and savored. In August, Hidden Acres will be in full bloom, bursting with fragrant herbs and a colorful variety of heirloom vegetables. A passion for home gardening and healthy cooking led host farmers Tom and Carolyn to build a large community garden for locals and supply regeneratively grown produce to Door County’s host of talented chefs — including guest chefs Gretchen Geurts and Robert Van Egeren. Gretchen has worked on our front of house team at several events over the years and we are delighted to host her and her partner Robby in the field kitchen for the first time! They’re both Wisconsin natives with a wealth of diverse culinary experience. Together, they run Ohana Hospitality in Sister Bay, where they craft unique private dining experiences and locally sourced seasonal menus influenced by their collective travels around the world. You can expect a late summer meal as stunning as the scenery.
Hidden Acres Farm
We’re thrilled to spend two nights at this regenerative produce farm in Door County, where an abundance of heirloom vegetables and herbs grow amongst lush woods and nature preserves near the rugged shores of Lake Michigan. Farmers Tom and Carolyn are passionate and conscientious growers who put great care into tending the land. And guest chef Ian Milosek will put great care into the evening’s meal. At Hotel Washington, Ian works with many local farms, foragers and purveyors on the island including Hidden Acres. We can’t wait to see what he does with all of the summer goodness growing near the table.
Elawa Farm Foundation
This majestic 16-acre property was originally developed in 1917 for the A. Watson Armour family, a distinguished family in Chicago society. We were very excited to discover it, and this is our first visit. Upon arrival, Elawa Farm looks like a very fancy place, with impressive, brick-faced manor buildings, green lawns and groomed hedges populated by cherubic garden sculptures. But don’t be fooled. This is a real working place, a historic farm and garden whose fields produce a plethora of organic goodness and also serves as a unique center for hands-on learning and food access programs for the local community. Guest chefs Rob Martino, Frankie Vazquez, Spencer Koppi and Angelyne Canicosa are the chef team behind Vie and Vistro Prime, two celebrated restaurants in the Chicago suburbs from Paul Virant. Vie has collected a long list of awards over the years for its ever-changing prix fixe menu featuring local ingredients from area farms. Virant’s other popular spot Vistro re-opened last year as Vistro Prime, a neighborhood steak house specializing in wood-fired steaks and sides. They’ll love cooking over fire in the field kitchen.
Blue Moon Community Farm
It’s hard to believe, but the last time we were here at Blue Moon was in 2015. We’re very excited to be back again to see what Farmer Kristen and her team have been up to since then! The Blue Moon crew are longtime and beloved regulars at the Westside Community Farmers Market in downtown Madison, offering 50+ varieties of farm-fresh veggies, starting in April with Spring vegetables and organic seedlings that home gardeners can plant in their own plots, all the way through Fall harvest in November. Growing food in the Upper Midwest is not what it was 17 years ago when Kristen first started her community farm after getting the farming bug in New York’s Hudson Valley. Climate change and disrupted weather patterns have brought new challenges. Kristen will tell us how Blue Moon is adapting to serve the needs of the land and keep Madison’s community larder rich in delicious, local, nutrient-dense vegetables. Meanwhile, guest chef Evan Dannells will transform all those delicious vegetables into a summer feast in the field kitchen. His Madison restaurant Cadre combines French-inspired cuisine with Wisconsin-grown produce, meat and cheese. Yum.
The Hickories
This is one of our most beloved stops on the tour — so we’re always sure to stay two nights. There’s plenty to see, after all. And farmer (and former poet!) Dina Brewster has plenty of stories to tell. We’ll have another wander through the orchard, stroll by the trout pond, and say hello to all the friendly farm animals before settling in at the table curving around their beautiful barn. This time, the supremely talented chef team at Olmo will helm the field kitchen. We first worked with Olmo back in 2019, less than a year after opening their doors. During the pandemic, they converted their experimental restaurant into a bagelry and marketplace offering some of the finest bagel sandwiches and flatbreads on the East Coast. They are sure to cook up another unforgettable meal with the farm’s 160 varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs growing under late summer sun.
Blue Moon Community Farm
Rolling green hills, colorful cut flower beds, heaps of peak Summer vegetables and herbs, a drove of happy pastured pigs. This 6-acre agricultural oasis outside Madison is worthy of a second night. Especially with guest chef Dan Fox helming the pans in the field kitchen. Chef Dan has cooked many memorable events in Wisconsin with us over the years. He’s also caught the eyes of Madison Magazine and James Beard quite a few times over the years for his creative farm-to-table menus at Heritage Tavern. He is deeply committed to sourcing from local Madison farmers like Kristen. He also has a passion for pigs. In 2011, he founded Fox Heritage Farms, where he raises heritage breeds including Mangalitsas, Red Wattle, and Tamworth for his own restaurant and many other Madison and Milwaukee-area chefs. Expect to see some of that delicious pork on the menu.
Sitopia Farm
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.
Kneehigh Farm & Kitchen Garden Textiles
Knee High Farm is a women-owned and operated farm in eastern Pennsylvania focused on employing and empowering women in agriculture while creating a stronger, more resilient local community through food. Here, Farmer Emma and her crew tend over 100 varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs using regenerative organic practices that protect the soil and surrounding ecosystem. Kitchen Garden Textiles is another women-centric endeavor, founded by Heidi Barr. They produce elegant, heirloom-quality napkins, produce bags and aprons, all made with 100% organic linen locally crafted in Pennsylvania. Emma and Heidi’s Pa. Flax Project aims to revitalize the flax for linen industry that originated in Pennsylvania in 1691. This dinner will feature tablecloths and napkins from our collaboration with Kitchen Garden Textiles. We are proud to feature these custom textiles at a number of our dinners this year. Guest chef Ari Miller wears Kitchen Garden Textiles aprons in yet another example of what he calls “relationship cuisine” — his approach to creating unconventional dishes sourced from local producers with whom Chef Ari has formed close relationships. We are excited to see this very special farmer / maker / chef relationship in action.
Monteillet Fromagerie
This will be our 9th year setting the table in the gorgeous golden grasslands at Monteillet Fromagerie. Farmers and cheesemakers Pierre Louis and Joan are longtime friends of OITF and our farm dinner tour wouldn’t be the same without them. Joan grew up on her family wheat farm in Eastern Washington and Pierre Louis was raised near Roquefort, France. The pair met and fell in love while they were both traveling in Mexico and Pierre Louis hitchhiked to Walla Walla all the way from El Paso Texas to surprise Joan after the trip. As they say, the rest was history. Now they raise 50 goats and 50 sheep on their beautiful 32-acre farmstead in Dayton and make many delectable sheep and goat cheeses in their on-site fromagerie. We’ll get a tour of their impressive cheesemaking operation before we sit down to our meal in the field. Guest chef Maximillian Petty of Kinglet will bring a playful style to our four-course meal, featuring a sampling of Pierre Louis and Joan’s artisanal cheeses and perfectly paired Walla Walla wines.