Outstanding in the field

HOST FARMERS: Quincy & Patrick Horan, Waldingfield Farm
GUEST CHEFS: Michel Nischan, The Dressing Room, Westport & Joel Viehland, Community Table, Washington

Patrick and Quincy Horan

Chef Michel Nischan, Chef Joel Viehland

Outstanding in the Field is a “roving culinary adventure – a restaurant without walls”. Established since 1999, they have toured all around the USA in farms (and the occasional rooftop and greenhouses) to honor the farmers whose good work brings nourishment to the table.

Ingredients for the meal are almost all local (most sourced within inches of my seat at the table) and prepared by a celebrated chef of the region. After a tour of the site, we all settle in: farmers, producers, culinary artisans, and diners sharing the long table, served family style.

The 180 seat table extends down the beautiful surroundings of the Waldingfield farm in Washington CT as our restaurant decor, old friends and new found it to be something rather special. We give a sigh of relief to the one unwelcomed guest who didn’t turn up = the 40% precipitation warning from The Weather Channel.

Mushroom bruschetta with Beltane Farm’s ricotta salata

Gazpacho shooters from Walker Rd Vineyard, Gertrude’s Garden

Waldingfield farm fresh cucumber daiquiri

Heirloom tomato salad with cheese, balsamic reduction & olive oil

Chopped salad – fresh plum, sea island peas, baby carrots, chèvre, toasted almonds, frisée & mustard vinaigrette

Longmeadow Farm pasture raised chicken with heirloom onions, peppers, kale & chimichurri sauce

Kettle macaroni & cheese, farmstead cheddar, Pleasant cow cheese, house cured pork belly, artisan bread crumbs

Dressing room meatloaf, caramelized onion gravy

Walker Road Vineyard Red

Rosemary corncake with fresh blueberries and herb cream

Waldingfield farm was originally bought by Patrick and Quincy’s great grandfather originally as a dairy farm. Nowadays, it is the largest certified organic farm in Connecticut, stretching across 20 acres of land. Amongst a large selection of vegetables and herbs, there are over 30,000 heirloom tomato plants of different varieties that grow and flourish on Waldingfield Farm. Clever planting such as surrounding the fields with sunflowers draw bees into the area to kill off pests.

You can also purchase their amazing produce by visiting their farm stand.

Proceeds from the dinner we enjoyed also goes to forward thinking organization called Wholesome Wave – which helps low income communities get access to local nutritious foods, purchasable by foodstamps (with the built in incentive for shoppers of DOUBLING the value of those food stamps). The other program they have is the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, where community partners and Wholesome Wave are actually honoring prescriptions from doctors, in exchange for fruits and veggies at farmers markets.