Know Your Vino

Outstanding in the Field comes to Missoula for a feast at the farm.

Outstanding in the Field, a California-based band of culinary gypsies who stage white-tablecloth dinners in farm fields across North America, will be doing its first-ever event in Montana as the group crosses the country for its 2009 National Tour.  

On Saturday, July 25, Outstanding in the Field will set its long communal table at Blue Willow Farm in Stevensville, where host farmers Kevin and Kimberly Stevenson-Yorke will welcome guests. Working out of an al fresco kitchen, Chef Scott Gill of Scotty’s Table here in Missoula will prepare a five-course feast for participants. Scott is thrilled to be a part of the inaugural event and working closely with the Willow Farm and Outstanding in the Field to secure ingredients and wine. Andy Sponseller and Connie Poten of Ten Spoon Winery will also be collaborating by contributing some of their wines created by the grapes grown here in the Rattlesnake Valley for the feast – to make it truly a local farm-to-table event.  

Outstanding in the Field’s 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. This year marks their 10th year of shining the spotlight on the people who work hard to produce our good food. A pioneer of farm-to-table dining, founding chef Jim Denevan did his first farm dinner in 1999 in his hometown of Santa Cruz, California, and took the dinners on the road in 2003. “Even in the midst of economic difficulty, or perhaps because of it, people are more eager than ever to get out to the farm, see where their food comes from, and sit down at the table with the farmers and food artisans who cultivated it,” said Denevan.  

Outstanding in the Field dinners begin with a tour of the host farm. Guests then take their seats at Denevan’s signature table — a long, linen-draped expanse set between the soil and the sky. During dinner, the host farmer and other local food producers who provided ingredients for the meal share the table with guests and talk about where the food on the plate came from and what it takes to get it there. 

Cost of the Outstanding in the Field dinner is $180, all inclusive, with wines paired to each course throughout the five-course meal. Start time is 4pm.  

For more information and to make reservations, visit www.outstandinginthefield.com