Alright, let’s talk about the farm-to-table dinners I did back in 2023. It wasn’t some fancy gimmick, more like I got fed up with tasteless stuff from the big stores and wanted to know where my food was actually coming from. Plus, helping out some local guys trying to make a living felt right.
Getting Started – The Legwork
First thing was finding the farms. This wasn’t easy. Forget just googling; a lot of the best small places barely have a website. It meant driving around, asking folks at local markets, following dirt roads. You find some gems and some duds. Needed places with good produce, obviously, but also folks who were reliable. Can’t plan a dinner if the farmer flakes on you.
- Visited probably a dozen farms within an hour’s drive.
- Checked out what they grew, when it was actually in season (not just what they said they had).
- Talked to the farmers, got a feel for who was dependable.
Then came the planning. Had to pick dates that worked, usually weekends. The tricky part was designing a menu before knowing exactly what would be perfect on the day. You have an idea, based on the season, but you gotta be flexible. Nature doesn’t run on a strict schedule.
The Grind – Sourcing and Prepping
A couple of days before each dinner, the real work started. Driving back out to the farms I’d chosen. Sometimes multiple farms for different things – veggies from one, maybe some local cheese or honey from another. It takes time, loading up the car. Got caught in the rain more than once hauling crates of muddy veg.
Then back to the kitchen. Washing everything felt like it took forever. You find bugs, dirt, the occasional slug. It’s real food, right? Lots of chopping, prepping. Trying to keep things simple, let the ingredients shine. Didn’t want to mask the freshness with complicated sauces. Roasting, grilling – methods that bring out natural flavour.
Key challenge: Sometimes a planned ingredient just wasn’t available. Hailstorm ruined the lettuce, or the beans weren’t ready. Had to improvise, swap things out last minute. Stressful? Yeah, a bit. But you roll with it.
Dinner Time – The Payoff (Mostly)
Setting up was usually simple. Often outside if the weather held. Long table, basic settings. The focus was the food and the company. People started arriving. It was cool seeing folks connect with the idea that their salad wasn’t picked weeks ago on another continent.
Most guests really appreciated it. They could taste the difference. Lots of questions about the farms, the ingredients. That felt good, sharing the story behind the meal. Of course, you always get one or two who don’t quite get it, but that’s life.
Cleaning up afterwards? That’s the less glamorous part. Lots of dishes, tired feet. But sitting down after everyone’s left, maybe with a glass of wine, looking back at the empty plates – there’s a satisfaction there.
Looking Back at 2023
So, the farm-to-table dinners of 2023. It was a ton of work. More driving and coordinating than I first expected. Things went wrong sometimes. But overall? Worth it. Eating food that actually tastes like something, supporting local growers, sharing that with others… it’s rewarding.
Learned a lot about seasonal eating, respecting ingredients, improvising in the kitchen. Will I do it again? Probably. Maybe scale it back a bit, focus on fewer, really special events. It takes a lot out of you, but yeah, it felt real. More real than just ordering everything online, anyway.
