-Photo credits Jeannie Rose and John C. Rose
Good food, good people, good music and a great, local cause all came together on Sunday evening at the Chefs on the Farm event held at the Warren Estate in Warren County.
The event, a fundraiser for Working Landscapes in Warrenton, paired farmers and their products with local chefs for a delicious outdoor dinner complete with a festive “on the farm” fall setting.
Working Landscapes is a nonprofit rural development organization with a mission to advance the economic and environmental resilience of the region. Among their visions, the organization seeks to help people recognize, appreciate and have access to local food and the natural environment.
They clearly accomplished just that as the community dined on such delectables as short rib gumbo, pizza, ratatouille, smoked chicken rillette, beef dumplings, apple turnovers, cocktails and much more.
The food was presented on covered tables with signs stating the dish, the known allergens and the chef/farm pairing.
On the local scene, Chefs Michael Ring, Nick Garrison and A.J. Garrelts with Warrenton’s Robinson Ferry Restaurant & Spirits were paired with G&D Produce, to present the short rib gumbo.
Other restaurant and farm participants included Saint Jacques French Cuisine in Raleigh partnered with Bender Farms; Coronato Pizza partnered with Taber Farms and AAA Farm and Ranch; Sassool of Raleigh/Cary partnered with Nash Produce; 18 Seaboard in Raleigh partnered with Taber Farms; Umma Foods partnered with Sunrise Ridge Farm; Whiskey Kitchen in downtown Raleigh partnered with Taber Farms; and 41Hundred partnered with Y’mijer Farm.
The crowd dined while enjoying live music from the GrassStreet Bluegrass Band. GrassStreet, based in central North Carolina, features Wayne Kinton (guitar, vocals), David Kinton (upright bass, mandolin, vocals), Ricky Hargis (banjo, vocals) and Tab Kearns (dobro, vocals).
The band has entertained fans of all ages since 2003 with their mixture of original material and bluegrass standards ranging from the traditional to the progressive.
According to WIZS’ own John C. Rose, the event was quite the success. “My wife and I attended the event as paying customers to help the cause and it was awesome,” said Rose. “We are already planning to go back every time they have future Chefs on the Farm events. All of the food was great. The atmosphere of being on the farm and seeing some folks you know and meeting some new people, and GrassStreet playing in the background, was just perfect.”
(L to R – Nihya Alston, Kamini Hudson, Nyasia Warren)
(L to R – Beth Aiken, Anna Walker, Amanda Ellis)
