bunkycooks: dinner with the stars - outstanding in the field leicester, nc

7/30/2019 Bunkycooks: Dinner With The Stars - Outstanding in the Field Leicester, NC

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charleston-sc/

Dinner with the Stars Outstanding in the Field, Leicester, NC

and The Ultimate Critics Dinner, Charleston, SC

Seating themselves on the greensward, they eat while the corks fly and there is talk, laughter and merriment,

and perfect freedom, for the universe is their drawing room and the sun their lamp. Besides, they have appetit

Natures special gift, which lends to such a meal a vivacity unknown indoors, however beautiful the

surroundings. ~ Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

The frequency of f ood and wine fest ivals and culinary events in the country continues to escalate as does

our preoccupation with f ood. Every week there is an opportunity to attend a local event o r to travel to a

unique dest ination to experience f oo d in a dif f erent way. Outdoor dinners have become very popular,

especially in the South, where the temperatures allow f or almos t year-round dining. They af f ord an

opportunity to reconnect with your surroundings and provide a romantic backdrop, especially on a beautifu

evening. We had the pleasure of taking part in two o f these dinners in October: The Outst anding in the Fie

dinner in Leicester, North Carolina and the Ultimate Critics Dinnerin Charlesto n, South Caro lina.

Outstanding in the Field Dinner Gaining Ground Farm Leicester, North Carolina

Chef William Dissen The Market Place, Asheville, North Carolina

Jim Denevan, Founder of Outst anding in the Field, has been credited with creating a movement o f

connecting people with f armers and chefs while dining under the s tars . Jim and his t eam travel the United

States with tables, chairs, cooking equipment, and serving pieces in tow to destinations f rom coast to coas

(and beyond), to work with local chefs to put on these events .
http://www.marketplace-restaurant.com/about/chef-william-dissenhttp://charlestonwineandfood.com/events/ultimate-critics-dinner/http://www.bunkycooks.com/2013/01/dinner-with-the-stars-outstanding-in-the-field-leicester-nc-and-the-ultimate-critics-dinner-charleston-sc/http://www.marketplace-restaurant.com/about/chef-william-dissenhttp://outstandinginthefield.com/about/history/http://charlestonwineandfood.com/events/ultimate-critics-dinner/https://outstandinginthefield.com/http://www.bunkycooks.com/2012/07/moveable-feast-dinner-at-biltmore-spring-in-the-american-south-with-executive-chef-damien-cavicchi/http://www.bunkycooks.com/2013/01/dinner-with-the-stars-outstanding-in-the-field-leicester-nc-and-the-ultimate-critics-dinner-charleston-sc/


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Outstanding in the Field at Gaining Gro und Farm

Founde r, Jim De nevan, Leah Scafe, and Chef William Disse n (in b ackgro und)

,

Chef -Owner of

The Market

Place

restaurant in

Asheville, NC

was the chef

f or this event.

Hosted at

Gaining GroundFarm, Anne and

Aaron Grier s

f amily f arm

outside of

Asheville, on a

gorgeous

evening in early

October, it was

our first time

attending one

of these

dinners.

While guests

enjoyed

champagne and

appetizers in

the barn, Jim

Denevan and

Leah Scafe,

Jims partner

and ass istant,

talked about

their mission

to re-connect

diners to t he

land and the

origins of their

f ood, and to

honor t he local

f armers and

f ood artisans

who cultivate

it. The Griers

talked about

their challenges

and successes

of owning a
http://www.gaininggroundfarm-nc.com/http://www.marketplace-restaurant.com/


3/16

Chef William Diss en with Leah Scafe

Anne & Aaro n G ri e r

sma arm.

Chef Dissen

shared his

philosophy and

commitment to

sourcing and

cooking with

only

sustainable and

local

ingredients.

Following this

gathering, there

was a brief

f arm tour,

culminating with

dinner in the

f ield.

If you havenever been to

an outdoor

dinner like this,

there is

something very

special about

f ellowship with

new friends

while dining

under the s tars

with the moonand candles

providing the

light. There

were 140

guests at the

f arm that

evening, all

with the same

philosophy

around

supporting

local farmers

and chefs who

have a mission

to do the

same.

With the

breeze blowing


4/16

Chefs Tim Peters and William Dissen pre paring appe tizers

Guests enjo ying app etizers and champagne in the barn

an e s un

setting, we

dined on

beautifully

prepared and

freshly

harvested

vegetables and

local meats

and f ish.

Guest chef ,

Tim Peters of

Mot or Supply

Company in

Columbia,

South Carolina,

worked

alongside chef

Dissen and his

team to

prepare four

courses from

these locally

sourced

ingredients.

One of the

dishes

f eatured beef

f rom the farm

where the

event washosted, Wood

Grilled Gaining

Ground Farm

Beef Brisket

with Tomato

Jam, Farm and

Sparrow

Roast ed Garlic

Spoonbread,

served with

Rainbow SwissChard with

Braised

Radish. Paired

with some

lovely wines,

this was truly a
http://motorsupplycobistro.com/pages/bios.html


5/16

One o f the gues ts in the barn

memorable evening.

The Ultimate Critics Dinner Ashem

Farm Charleston, SC

This dinner was one of my f avorite events

this past year. Held on a beautiful histo ric

f arm outs ide of Charleston, it could not have

been a more perf ect evening. I was honored

to have been chosen as one of the panel to

select the participants f or this dinner and

was delighted to attend the Ultimate Critics

Dinner in conjunction with the BB&T

Charleston Wine & Food Fest ival.

The host, beverage expert, and chefs f or t he

evening are chosen by a panel of judges (o r

critics), much like the vot ing system for t he

James Beard Foundation awards. Anyone

f rom the Charleston culinary scene can be

nominated and once the f irst vo tes havebeen submitted, the f ield of nominees is

narrowed down to a f inal vote. The winners

of that round of voting plan the evenings

menu from the appetizers and cocktails,

through dinner with wine pairings, to the

f inale and dessert course.

Ashem Farm, where the event was held, was

recently donated to Charleston by owner

Emily Ravenel Farow (who passed away in

2011), in order to preserve this importantpiece of land and histo ry in this area. The

55-acre property, located along the Old

Towne Creek and the Ashley River, was a
http://www.lolt.org/conservation-programs/ashem-farm.htmlhttp://charlestonwineandfood.com/


6/16

Outside the barn

Guests can do nate p lates to use at the dinner for an ecle ctic mix of table s ettings

stunning

location fo r the

dinner. The

host fo r the

evening was

Mickey Bakst,

General

Manager of the

Charleston Grillat the

Charleston

Place Hotel.

There was no

better person

to guide guests

through the

night with

stories of the

histo ry of the

property whileescorting us to

each new and

perfectly

chosen venue

on the property.

The dishes

served

throughout the

evening were

inspired by oneof Emily

Farrows

favorite

cookbooks,

Sarah

Rutledges

1847 classic

cookbook, The

Carolina

Housewife. To

begin theevening,

canapes of

Smoked Fish

with Johnny

Cakes and

Beef Ton ue
http://www.charlestongrill.com/#homehttp://www.bunkycooks.com/2012/04/mickey-bakst-and-charleston-chefs-feed-the-need/


7/16

Spit Roasted Brasstown Farm Sucking Pig with Honey and Apple Chutney

Two of our dinner co mpanions for the evening

were prepared

dockside by

Chef Jeremiah

Bacon of T he

Macintosh and

Oak

Steakhouse.

Guests then

followed thetrail leading to

the horse

stables where

we were

greeted with

Seminole Soup

(think squirrel)

prepared by

Chef Sean

Brock of

McCradys andHusk. These

two appetizer

courses were

paired with

cocktails

chosen by

Patrick

Emerson, Wine

and Beverage

Director o f

Maverick

Southern

Kitchens.

As t he sun

began to set

on this

gorgeous warm

evening, we

were guided

along a path

through the

trees that were

draped with

lights and then

passed through

a draped
http://charlestonwineandfood.com/people/patrick-emerson/http://www.bunkycooks.com/2011/06/interview-with-chef-sean-brock-charleston-sc-and-a-recipe-for-hoppin-john/http://www.themacintoshcharleston.com/jeremiah_bacon.html


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The wine pairings were excelle nt

tent alight with stunning table sett ings and

st rung lights. The Ultimate Dinner was the

perfect description as we were served five

expertly prepared courses from Chef Mike

Latas (Fig and The Ordinary) Caveach of

Mackerel paired with a Fruilano wine f rom

Italy to Emily Cooksons (Past ry Chef at

Charleston Grill) elegant Rose Charlot te with

Raspberry Preserves and Rataf ia. Thepairing f or t his dessert course was a

Moscato Rose from the Piedmonte Region in

Italy.

The o ther chef s chosen by the critics were

Joshua Keeler(Two Boro ughs Larder),

Michelle Weaver(Charleston Grill), and Frank

Lee (Slightly North of Broad SNOB). As

each course was exceptional, it would be

hard to s elect a f avorite, but Chef Weavers

Guinea Fowl Fricassee with Caro lina Pilau,Country Ham with Sweet Potatoes and

Rosemary seemed to be a real crowd

pleaser.

The warm summer evening, moonlit night,

and beautifully appointed venue created an

atmosphere that will be remembered f orever.

Be sure to check the Charleston Wine &

Food Festivals page in the coming months

f or t heir announcement regarding this years

event and location.

OurOn The Road culinary adventures will be

heading to Virginia in April. One of our
http://www.ontheroadculinaryadventures.com/http://charlestonwineandfood.com/http://www.mavericksouthernkitchens.com/slightlynorthofbroad/about/http://www.bunkycooks.com/2011/03/interview-with-chef-michelle-weaver-of-charleston-grill-and-a-recipe-for-cauliflower-soup-with-truffled-brioche-croutons/http://charlestonwineandfood.com/people/josh-keeler/http://charlestonwineandfood.com/people/emily-cookson/http://www.bunkycooks.com/2011/09/chef-mike-lata-fig-charletson-sc-and-coddled-sea-island-farm-egg-with-stone-crab/


9/16

Roasted Squash and Heirlo om Farro, Shaved Fennel Salad with Orange Thyme Vinaigrette

The sun would s oo n set and we then dine d unde r the stars

spec a

evenings will

f eature a farm

dinner, Dining

with the Stars,

and will include

leading chefs

and a wine

maker on a

beautiful f arm.

Be sure to

watch f or this

very special

opportunity.

More

information will

be provided in

the next f ew

weeks.

Posted by

Gwen on

January 7, 2013


10/16

Gre eting us as we arrived at Ashem Farm

Mickey Bakst, the evenings host, at our first venue by the dock


11/16

Patrick Emerson s erving The King Edward co cktail

Guests arriving at the stables for the se cond round o f canapes and cocktails


12/16

Chef Sean Brock making a p ot of Seminol e Soup


13/16

The horse s garnered much attention during the stop at the sec ond venue

Yes, the recip e from The Carolina Housewife calls for squirrel


14/16

Chefs Emily Coo kson and Mike Lata

Guests e ntering the tent for dinner


15/16

With Chef Michelle Weaver

The table s ettings were b eautifully arrange d


16/16

This was one o f the mo st memorable events of 2012

bunkycooks: dinner with the stars - outstanding in the field leicester, nc

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