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"Farm To Fork Al Fresco" dining experiences was established in 2007, and was created to bring people together to share a table and break bread - a true bonding experience, and one that holds a special place in our hearts. So many memories are created around the table.
Being "moveable" enabled us to offer our culinary experiences by season, available agriculture, region and climate, while reaching as many people as possible.
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Because of our commitment to promote and highlight local farms & farmers, as well as other providers, we select/curate specific rural areas for our dinners. Our rural areas are vital to our dinners because of the fresh products offered by our local farming communities, and the idea of using those fresh products in each of our menus adds another dimension to our goal. The availability of, and incorporating local ingredients with our menus, are what make each meal exceptional - not any one dish, but the mixing of what's local, fresh and seasonal - and that's what we want our guests to experience.
Our dinners were originally presented at our very own kitchens/properties in Aspen; Coastal California, East Hampton, NY; The Hudson Valley; Coastal Connecticut; Charleston, SC and New York City. During the past 17 years we've fostered relationships with our local purveyors - enjoying many meals together sharing ideas, trends, agricultural forecasts, recipes, and more. These memorable evenings also introduced us to many talented local artisans that didn't have "brick and mortar" locations, but were local home-based businesses. Recognizing that these artisans were just as vital, Farm To Fork Al Fresco executed an initiative - to collaborate with local farms/farmers, chefs, sommeliers, along with many other culinary talents and create a unique and immersive experience for our guests by introducing and promoting these local artisans and growers; presenting local chefs as guest chefs; and holding these dinners on the agricultural properties - farms, vineyards, ranches, orchards, and more - that harvested the ingredients for the menus at each evenings event. We're proud that each year we're able to add more dates and locations to our calendar that include these exceptional local artisans in regions throughut the Country.
Visual appeal and presentation is key to a cuisine and a concept, and it's true that we eat with our eyes. Understanding that folks are drawn to and yearn for anything that elicits an incredible culinary experience, Farm To Fork Al Fresco places as much emphasis on creating exceptional outdoor dining room settings, as they do on their menus.
Each setting that we design and create for our dining experiences is unique - as with our menus, no two are alike. Our events have an unprecedented reputation for transforming each site into extraordinary settings. Held in orchards, fields, vineyards, meadows; on organic and sustainable farms, snowmobile routes, rooftops, beaches, mountain tops, fishing docks, city streets; at seashores, creameries, and other unique and incredible sites, we design each event to give our guests the feeling of being swept away to a magical fairy-tale replete with chandeliers hanging from branches of 100 year old oak trees, relaxing pre-dinner lounge areas, stunning tablescapes and table settings, one-of-a-kind outdoor furnishings, accessories and decor. Our settings also include beautiful, distinctive and curated selections of fire pits, fountains, benches, sculptures, trellises wrapped in climbing plants & flowering vines, outdoor lighting, and more.
Due to the Pandemic, we lost our entire 2020 Season and more than half of our 2021 Season. However, the interest in Farm to Fork Al Fresco, as well as our reservation requests, increased during that same time period. Folks were looking for ways to get out of their homes and gather safely, and Farm to Fork Al Fresco is able to accommodate them because all of our events are held outdoors, which provides our guests with safe and appropriate social distancing. We also realized through our reservation requests, that folks were eager to embrace our communal tables, which really spoke to us and excited us. Although we also offer private tables at each of our events, we are committed to presenting our communal tables, pursuant to each location's guidelines/protocol, because communal tables also bring people together, even if just for a moment in time.
In mid- Autumn of 2021, after the restrictions were lifted, Farm To Fork Al Fresco made a decision to re-open. One of the reasons we were able to come back from Covid was because we've always had to be open to change, to pivot and edit, even at a moment's notice, and we revisit our concept after every experience because at the end of the night we always learn something new. It was also crucial for us to re-open because our events support, promote, contribute to and generate income for so many local purveyors at each of our locations.
Farm To Fork Al Fresco dining experiences are presented year round. Our Summer/Fall season brings us to fabulous and bucolic locations throughout the East Coast and New England. In Winter we head to warmer locales - the Southern States, Hawaii and Southern California, as well as Aspen and other "Intermountain" locales, because who can resist a once-in-a-lifetime sleigh ride to the site of an incredible 5-Star dinner!
There is 1 seating each night, dinner is served family style, and each "fare" includes a pre-fixe tasting of 8 courses, incorporating locally-sourced ingredients, driven by "season."
Currently there is a 1 year wait list for reservations to "Farm to Fork Al Fresco" dining experiences at several of our locations. Reservations can only be made via email or snail mail, and are made in the order requests are received. "We’re thrilled that our Farm to Fork Al Fresco dining experiences have become such popular and sought-after events. We've been providing these unique and delicious gatherings for over 15 years, and fortunately, for the past 9 years, we've been able to add new locations and dates to our calendar each year in an effort to fulfill/accommodate all of our reservation requests and to increase visibility of agricultural enterprises."
The Farm To Fork Al Fresco Summer, 2024/Winter, 2025 calendar of dinners is available by request only.