Our First Farm to Table Dinner
I can’t believe I am writing this but welcome to Gavin Farms’ very first blog post. Blog posts have been not only a tremendous resource for us but also a source of inspiration. Whether it be for advice on how to pack for two weeks in a carry on, design inspiration for wedding plans, the best recipe to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, or where to find the best foodie, farm to table restaurants when we are traveling- I have been inspired and motivated by other bloggers. Never in a million years did I plan on blogging myself but after we pulled off an incredible farm to table dinner, I knew we had something special to share.
The Why
Over the past few years, the way in which we eat has become a lot more intentional. With the rat race of life, we are always running from one task to the next and we don’t always take the time to slow down or relax. For us, eating breakfast and dinner together has always been a cherished priority for our relationship. It is a small but valuable amount of time that we slow down to reflect on our day. Knowing and appreciating the work that goes into locally raised food and how it impacts our community has become a driving force for us to eat better and with more gratitude. These passions created my 2018 goal, to cultivate deeper relationships with family and friends over good food by hosting a farm to table dinner. I longed to share this love for locally sourced, slow eating, with some of our most favorite people on our farm with our food and with as many special details as possible.
The Details
I love details. Enough of them to make my husband absolutely crazy at times but I think he is learning to see their value too. I envisioned beautiful place settings, harvest tables, string lights, and a foodie menu. I am still pinching myself because it was truly an evening to remember.
Local Pottery
When I dreamt up this dinner, hand crafted and locally made, Wilson Creek Pottery was going to be a necessity. I have been adding their farmhouse white pottery to my collection one piece at a time and beautiful homemade food, looks even better on handmade dishes that are made in Spring Green, WI.
Farm Fresh Design
Beautiful design and paper goods get me every time. Rebekah from Rebekah Disch Design somehow always knows how to read my mind better than I even can explain myself. She brought my ideas to life with these gorgeous farm fresh menus and invites.
Locally Sourced Menu
I knew the menu had to be something fresh and unique. When I met Katie Wyer from Large Batch Scratch, I immediately knew she was the girl for our dinner. We provided a list of what we had in our garden, what we had canned earlier that year, and what cuts of meat in our freezer and she created a one of a kind menu. We had guests that thought they didn’t like vegetables, wondering how to make these dishes themselves. This was exactly the experience we wanted our guests to take away and Katie nailed it. The menu included all of the freshest ingredients.
Homemade bread with fresh herbs and pickled veggies from our garden
Fresh salad with garden tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled beets, and an early pumpkin seed and coriander fennel dressing
Mixed color carrots 3 ways- shaved and marinated, blanched and grilled, and carrot-kohlrabi agridolce with grilled Gavin Farms bologna, rosemary, and thyme
Bloody Mary braised Gavin Farms’ beef brisket with cilantro chimichurri, spaghetti squash, broccoli, and local parmesan
Lavender pound cake with our strawberry rhubarb balsamic jam, fresh whipped cream, and toasted almonds
Vintage Charm
Warm, vintage style was scattered throughout. we have a stockpile of auction and flea market finds that I have collected over the years that I wanted to incorporate into the day to complete the intimate feel that I imagined. For those things that I still hadn’t found, We Hart Junk, Call Me Old Fashioned, and Hattie and Elsie helped us find.
The Photographer
And if this dinner was going to be at all like I had envisioned, we knew there was no other photographer we wanted to document this dream than the girl who continuously motivates us to share our story, Caitlin of Caitlin Claire Studio. These photos give us all the feels of that day and we are so grateful she was there to share this memorable day with us.
At more than one point during the dinner, I leaned over to Jim and said, “Can you believe we are doing this? This is really happening!” This is exactly the dinner we had longed to share with some of our closest friends and family and it went off without a hitch. We are at a loss for words for describe how grateful we are for the small army that helped pull off our intimate, locally sourced, farm to table dinner. It truly was so much fun for us to connect with everyone and we are so happy that everyone was able to enjoy a full menu with food from our farm, wine and cider from local producers, and good conversation with family, friends, and neighbors. These are the passions that help motivate us to deliver quality food from our farm to your table.