The Dinner: Grow NWI's Farm-to-Table
Last night, I had the opportunity to enjoy a local farm-to-table dinner celebrating the first year of operation for Grow NWI. This event used the freshest local ingredients available from the farms that participated in this event. This was their first year holding this event, and attendance exceeded their expectations. 150 guest were expected, but over 265 people bought tickets to support them! Of course the supporters got a wonderful dinner too. With a larger group than expected, this was a very well-organized event.
The local chefs used the local ingredients available to create a memorable four-course meal.
(See my full post about the event.)
After settling in, the food started coming out. There was no shortage of food!
The breads they brought to the table were wonderful and had fresh honey whipped butter, apple butter, and pumpkin butter to go along.
They led off with the best course, in my opinion. It was a roasted butternut squash and cameo apple bisque. It was savory and had a complexity of flavor unmatched in this dinner.
Then came the salad. It was potato with all kinds of other veg, including very fresh tasting sweet corn. The apple cider & honey mustard vinaigrette did not overpower the fresh veg on my plate.
The main course was bacon-wrapped chicken, pulled pork, and pumpkin spaetzel. The Shepherd's Pie came out later. This is my quick rundown.
The bacon-wrapped chicken was good and juicy. The apples that it was topped with were tender without being mushy. The bacon was wonderfully thick and meaty. It wasn't overly salty. The fruit and bacon provided flavor, without overshadowing the goodness of the high-quality meat. It wasn't over-seasoned.
The pulled pork was honestly disappointing. I really hate to say that. The bit I got was way too salty to eat. I kept trying it, it was so tender and juicy, but the salt was killing me. I can say that everyone at my table ate all of the pork on their plate. I just couldn't do it.
The pumpkin spaetzel was interesting. I'd like to try it again. I had just had salt overload before I tried it, so it was a touch bland at the first bite. As the salt wore off, I really, really enjoyed it. The pumpkin gave it a bit of a soft texture though.
The Shepherd's Pie was really good. It was a true shame that I was already pretty full when it came out. The meat was tender, the corn and carrots were perfectly sweet, and the potatoes were hearty. I could have eaten a whole plate of this if I wasn't so full!
I was so very full, but I knew dessert was on its way. I had to split it with Mr. K. There was no way that I could eat two pieces of dessert! Dessert was apple pie and a pumpkin dessert. Both were really good. I kept getting hard bits of the sugar coating and sugar in the crust of the pumpkin dessert. Despite that, the full richness of the fresh pumpkin puree came through. The apple pie was a good mix of fresh apples. It was tart, sweet, and earthy. The complexity of the flavors of apples really made this a great pie.
In less than three months, Grow NWI was able to organize and hold this wonderful event. It was more than reasonably priced for what was offered. For a fundraising event and an event showcasing local food sources, I would really expect to pay more (and have). I feel like the price made it more accessible for the community. This event seemed like a massive undertaking for an organization with limited volunteer resources in their first year of operation. I cannot wait until next year! I expect they will more than double the attendance and really get their message out.
The local chefs used the local ingredients available to create a memorable four-course meal.
(See my full post about the event.)
After settling in, the food started coming out. There was no shortage of food!
The breads they brought to the table were wonderful and had fresh honey whipped butter, apple butter, and pumpkin butter to go along.
They led off with the best course, in my opinion. It was a roasted butternut squash and cameo apple bisque. It was savory and had a complexity of flavor unmatched in this dinner.
Then came the salad. It was potato with all kinds of other veg, including very fresh tasting sweet corn. The apple cider & honey mustard vinaigrette did not overpower the fresh veg on my plate.
The main course was bacon-wrapped chicken, pulled pork, and pumpkin spaetzel. The Shepherd's Pie came out later. This is my quick rundown.
The bacon-wrapped chicken was good and juicy. The apples that it was topped with were tender without being mushy. The bacon was wonderfully thick and meaty. It wasn't overly salty. The fruit and bacon provided flavor, without overshadowing the goodness of the high-quality meat. It wasn't over-seasoned.
The pulled pork was honestly disappointing. I really hate to say that. The bit I got was way too salty to eat. I kept trying it, it was so tender and juicy, but the salt was killing me. I can say that everyone at my table ate all of the pork on their plate. I just couldn't do it.
The pumpkin spaetzel was interesting. I'd like to try it again. I had just had salt overload before I tried it, so it was a touch bland at the first bite. As the salt wore off, I really, really enjoyed it. The pumpkin gave it a bit of a soft texture though.
The Shepherd's Pie was really good. It was a true shame that I was already pretty full when it came out. The meat was tender, the corn and carrots were perfectly sweet, and the potatoes were hearty. I could have eaten a whole plate of this if I wasn't so full!
I was so very full, but I knew dessert was on its way. I had to split it with Mr. K. There was no way that I could eat two pieces of dessert! Dessert was apple pie and a pumpkin dessert. Both were really good. I kept getting hard bits of the sugar coating and sugar in the crust of the pumpkin dessert. Despite that, the full richness of the fresh pumpkin puree came through. The apple pie was a good mix of fresh apples. It was tart, sweet, and earthy. The complexity of the flavors of apples really made this a great pie.
In less than three months, Grow NWI was able to organize and hold this wonderful event. It was more than reasonably priced for what was offered. For a fundraising event and an event showcasing local food sources, I would really expect to pay more (and have). I feel like the price made it more accessible for the community. This event seemed like a massive undertaking for an organization with limited volunteer resources in their first year of operation. I cannot wait until next year! I expect they will more than double the attendance and really get their message out.
Comments
Post a Comment