Farm to Table Throw Down – or what is otherwise known as a class.

It was a lot of work… hard work. Lots of cussing and sweating and wondering if it would happen at all.

 

But then it did and it was amazing.

 

I’m writing about the Farm to Table class my husband, Sam, and I taught at Robinson Home this past Thursday, August 31, 2014.

 

The idea started 2 months prior and was more of a, “Hey, let’s make up a dream menu of local ingredients that are available and see if we can get people to sign up so we can cook awesome things” thought than a concrete plan. The end result was like nothing we could’ve imagined.

 

Creating the menu was the easy part. Menu creation is a chef’s form of day-dreaming… wishful thinking… wondering what we can get away with and not going broke. The hard part was sourcing the ingredients. Teaching a class centered around using locally harvested and eco-friendly fare plus living in an area that has access to tons of fresh ingredients double-plus a long growing season turned out to be a blessing, even if that blessing was disguised as a juggling act.

 

Sixteen plus farms and producers for one meal; 6 courses, 95% sourced from Georgia (the state, not the country).  The vinegars, some spices, and salt were the ingredients we couldn’t find within the state. That leaves everything else coming from GA vendors and the CHW Mulberry Market was a great starting place.

 

I’ve sold baked goods at various markets in the past, so I already knew several farmers. Plus, I’m the demo chef at the Mulberry Market, so in the words of Bill Murray, “I’ve got that going for me, which is nice.” I knew local markets would be a huge part of this dinner class.

 

As the month of July wound down, I spoke to tons of farmers to make sure specific ingredients would be available. We revised the menu and took notes… lots and lots of notes. The only thing I did more than make notes was make phone calls.

 

We ordered products from small towns such as Enigma, GA and Thomasville, GA. We drove to Montezuma to purchase Muscadine jelly. We started prepping the Sunday night before by making peach preserves and Coca Cola syrup. I practiced making macaroons with peanut flour instead of the traditional almond flour. We researched tirelessly. Any moment we weren’t at our other jobs, we were preparing for this class.

 

Then, the Wednesday before, the day to shop for ingredients from the farmers, arrived. This may have been the most fun I’ve had shopping at the market ever. We bought long beans, tomatoes, squash, asian cucumbers, arugula, lamb chops, bacon, african horned jelly melons, eggs, herbs, cheeses, butter, heavy cream, milk, and bread all at one location, the market.

 

Boy howdy, it really doesn’t get much better than putting money in the same hands as those that pulled the food out of the ground for you.

 

We cooked for hours into the night, then early Thursday morning we drove to Robinson Home and commenced the marathon prep/teaching day. I worked in the teaching kitchen while Sam prepped down in the kitchen at the Blacksmith’s Shop.

 

Then, the night we’d been waiting for finally arrived. It was time to see if all of our planning would pay off.

 

In front of 17 guests, we taught a combination of culinary arts and country heritage. During each course we prepared for the class, we were able to tell them which farmer sold us the products and where they were grown. We had a researcher and one of the farmers talk about their practices and why supporting local businesses is good for everyone. We plated each dish in front of the class and served them from 10 feet away. Food doesn’t get much fresher than that.

 

There was a certain electricity that lit-up the room, and I’m not talking about the current that illuminated the light bulbs. It was that rush of doing something right and making someone else smile. It was unlike anything I’d ever felt before and it made me proud and humbled and grateful, all at once.

 

I have a great partner in crime and would never have been able to pull off one half of what we did without him, so I want to thank Sam for everything he does for us. We also have some great people that worked with us to make this class happen; Will & Carrie Robinson, the owners of Robinson Home along with Chef Teddi Wohlford, plus our fearless kitchen steward, Kacey Hamilton, put in long hours and we want to thank y’all as well.
And without further delay, here is the menu:

 

Salad course: Grilled summer crook-neck squash salad with arugula, sorrel, charred Vidalia onions, goat cheese, and African horned jelly melon vinaigrette

 

Hot Appetizer course: Tomato pie with roasted and fresh tomatoes, basil, and Thomasville Tomme cheese

 

Seafood course: Pan-seared Ga Shrimp over Junction City Grits with smoked tomato gravy and green onions

 

Entree: Grilled Lamb chop over cream pea, butter bean, and long bean ragu with a muscadine gastrique

 

Cheese course: asian cucumber bread and butter pickles with Blue Moon Dairy’s smoky horseradish goat cheese, candied bacon topped with Sweet Grass Dairy’s Asher Bleu cheese, and Sweet Grass Dairy’s Greenhill cheese topped with peach preserves

 

Dessert course: Peanut macaroons with Coca Cola syrup and vanilla buttercream fillings, honey caramel sauce, buttered-pecan ice cream, and candied pecan topping

 

*I will post pictures as soon I can find some. We were too busy cooking to take photos!
As always – Shop local, eat fresh, and be good to one another
-Katie