We’ve been coming to Temecula Olive Oil Company since 2013 (sometimes a few times a year), and every time we pull into the dusty driveway, we feel like we’re coming home. Thom, Nancy and Catherine are some of the most gracious hosts you will ever meet, and can’t wait to help us taste through last year’s pressing of olive oil while telling us all about this year’s harvest. We’ll be there right in the middle of it. For dinner in the olive groves, we’re inviting John Cleveland from South LA’s Post & Beam down to show us his renowned Southern twist on California cuisine. After the event, keep an eye out for our crew enjoying a nightcap at the Stagecoach Inn, just down the street.
Taxonomy: 2023 Tour
Malibu Pier
Peaceful crashing waves, green hills rolling down to the shoreline and panoramic ocean views – the Malibu Pier is a dream dining destination. We will set the table along the rough-hewn planks of the pier for a dinner celebrating the bounty of Southern California’s land and sea with Australian-Italian chef Monty Koludrovic of Botanical Hospitality Group.
Rancho Sisquoc
Stepping onto this cattle ranch winery feels a little bit like stepping back into time. Rugged hillsides dotted with cows frame rows of grapevines leading up to the ranch’s historic barn and the nearby chapel, standing just outside the gates since 1875. We can’t wait to bring the table here for the first time. The Flood family has been on this land for six generations, and the youngest members still practice their riding skills with the ranch’s cowboys. Meanwhile, they’ve produced award-winning estate wines since the 1970s, with stunning labels illustrated by the family artist, Betty. Elizabeth’s daughter, Brett, is an old friend of OITF. We often set the table at her farm, Hillside Grain, in Bellevue, Idaho. Maybe we can convince her to join us at her family’s table for dinner with Chef Rhoda Magbitang from Mattei’s Tavern, a ranch-inspired restaurant with a thriving on-site garden. Chef Rhoda’s passion for California’s ranching history makes her the perfect person to showcase the history of this special property through her work in the field kitchen.
FarmerJawn at Elkins Estate
We met Christa Barfield last year on Elkins Estate, where she charmed us with her approach to organic farming, civil rights leadership, and food sovereignty. After quitting her career in healthcare five years ago, she was inspired while traveling abroad to commit herself to urban farming and work to expand food access in her hometown of Philadelphia. FarmerJawn has had a year of rapid growth since then, and we can’t wait to hear all about it as she tours us around her urban farm on the grounds of the historic Elkins Estate property. We’ll be joined by Chef George Madosky in the kitchen, leading the team from Fork. We love to work with them anytime we’re in the Philadelphia area – Fork is one of Seth’s favorite restaurants in the country. They just celebrated their 25th anniversary and seem to only be getting better with age.
Lancaster Community Table
We’re setting the long table just outside the Lancaster Central Market, the oldest continuously running farmers market in the US, and featuring local makers from across the region in our table settings. This is the heart of Amish country, where the tradition of handmade goods is still strong. Kyle Sollenberger, owner of soon-to-be-opened Passerine, has been asking us to visit him in Lancaster for years. So, it was easy to decide who we would invite to the table. Passerine’s chef, Joshua Manny, has a particular passion for working with regional growers and producers, making him the perfect choice.
This is one of a special series of Community Table Dinners, where we highlight not just farmers and the ingredients they provide, but also local makers and artisans whose work becomes our tablescape. OITF seeks to connect us through a celebration of all that is handmade, local and personal – forging bonds between those at the table and the people and the place that helped create the meal.
Burnt Hill Farm
Burnt Hill Farm is just outside of Washington, DC, but it feels like a different country. Flaxen hillsides, roaming woodland hogs and endless rows of native American wine grapes create a landscape of otherworldly beauty. Our hosts Andrew Baker, Lisa Hinton, and Ashli Johnson make some famously beautiful wines with biodynamic farming techniques and a mix of old world and American grapes. You can taste the love and heart they put into their work in every sip and we can’t wait to taste their newest vintages alongside our three feasts in their fields. To kick things off, we’ll have David and Tonya Thomas of H3irloom Foods back in the field kitchen, where they knocked it out of the park last year. Once again, they’ll create an African-inspired feast designed to honor the environment, history, and community of the region.
Burnt Hill Farm
This will be our second night on this 117 acre biodynamic farm, vineyard and winery. In addition to their ambitious natural wines, the passionate team at Burnt Hill raises woodland hogs, honey bees and heritage grains on rolling golden hillsides ringed with dense woods. Andrew Baker, Lisa Hinton and Ashli Johnson farm with grit and tenacity and they have an incredibly passionate community behind them. We will celebrate their hard work on this abundant land with an early Autumn feast from guest chef Rob Rubba. As a special treat, he’s bringing us a sampling of his Michelin-starred vegetarian cuisine from Oyster Oyster. We can promise you won’t miss the meat with this unapologetically plant-focused, deeply sustainably minded dinner. The perfect pairing for Burnt Hill’s deeply flavorful, sustainably minded wines.
Burnt Hill Farm
We finish off our mini-residency on the wild hillside farmed by Andrew Baker, Lisa Hinton and Ashli Johnson. Once again we’ll enjoy a range of their uniquely American wines while gazing out at the spectacular views of the Appalachian Mountains and feasting on the fruits of the surrounding land. Chef Eric Adjepong will be joining us in the field kitchen for a meal featuring enticing flavors from the West African diaspora. He’s lived on three continents, traveled extensively, and even completed a stint on Top Chef—but we’re sure he’ll be happy to be cooking close to his home in Washington DC while taking us on a culinary trip across the world.
Barrier Island Oyster Co.
Charleston has become a must-visit American city partly because of its explosive local food scene. Certainly, the charming architecture, cobblestone streets and amazing waterfront don’t hurt either. We’re setting the table just south of the city at Barrier Island Oyster Co.— a thriving oyster farm where hosts Josh Eboch, Kendra Tidwell and Hamlin Auld raise Lowcountry oysters at the mouth of the open ocean. We’ll slurp some delectable bivalves alongside crisp wines while overlooking their floating cages. Then we’ll sit down to dinner with Kevin Getzewich from The Kingstide. Chef Kevin showcases the Lowcountry’s seafood bounty through his woodfired preparations, pairing it with his favorite seasonal ingredients.
Love is Love Cooperative Farm
This is one of our favorites. Our fruitful relationship with farmers Joe and Judith started out many years ago and we have been coming back to set our table here ever since. Love is Love is now worker-owned, growing nutritious, consciousness-raising food and flowers for the North Georgia region while providing living wages and benefits for all the cooperative’s employees. Importantly, they are working towards a future in which their farmland will remain agricultural in perpetuity. We love to set our table in their beds of summer produce, and can’t wait to welcome the chefs from Chai Pani into the field kitchen. Their “mindblasting” street food-inspired Indian cuisine has earned them recognition from the James Beard Foundation and the New York Times, and will certainly delight everyone at the table.