Outstanding in the Field

Slow food ("Links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment). Buy Local ("Buying local goods and services instead of those produced more distantly").  Green Movement("Support of environmentally friendly products").  Sustainable Agriculture ("Farming using principles of ecology and the study of relationships between organisms and their environment").  These movements and concepts are what I assoicate with Outstanding in the Field.

Outstanding in the Field is an organization I have been following for a few years.  I've been tempted by it and so far have resisted the temptation.  I came very close recently to giving in but I stood firm.  What is the lure?  Just read this information from the About Us section of their website, which reads like a love letter to me:

Our mission is to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.

Outstanding in the Field is a roving culinary adventure – literally a restaurant without walls. Since 1999 we have set the long table at farms or gardens, on mountain tops or in sea caves, on islands or at ranches. Occasionally the table is set indoors: a beautiful refurbished barn, a cool greenhouse or a stately museum. Wherever the location, the consistent theme of each dinner is to honor the people whose good work brings nourishment to the table.

Ingredients for the meal are almost all local (sometimes sourced within inches of your seat at the table!) and generally 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.

On August 27, Outstanding in the Field will come to the Happy Farm in Kintnersville, PA.  The chef is from Bolete Restaurant in Bethlehem, PA.  For $180 a person, you can join this dining experience.  I wasn't tempted by this one.  I thought of August heat and humidity.  I visualized sticking to my seat while trying to dine.  Not appealing.

Less than an hour from Philadelphia, the Blooming Glen Farm in Perkasie will host Outstanding in the Field on September 24th.  The chef is from Supper on South Street in Philadelphia.  This one will set you back $200 per person.  Believe it or not, I almost did this.  I was "oh so close."  In the end, I just couldn't justify the expense.  It's not too late, though, if you are interested.

The release date for Outstanding in the Field tickets is announced in advanced.  This builds a frenzy, I believe.  When the big day came this past Sunday, several locations sold out quickly.  (Many of these were in California, where pleasant outside dining season is certainly longer than on the East Coast.  New York City sold out quickly, too.)  To see if locations in your area have sold out, check out the schedule.

The concept of Outstanding in the Field interests me, as do the movements and concepts that I relate to it.  But it occurs to me there is another concept I should have listed above.  Expensive.  This is what will prevent me from being seduced by Outstanding in the Field for yet another year.