Oregon Public Broadcasting

Farm to Fork dinners are usually served on the very farms where the food was grown. 

They’re a national phenomenon.  But ultra fresh fare isn’t all these events offer.

Guy Hand goes to dinner at Boise’s Peaceful Belly Farms, where the music from the kitchen ipod accompanies the preparations for the evening.

The outdoor kitchen at Peaceful Belly Farms is in a state of controlled frenzy. 

Chef Abby Carlson prepping dinner

Chef Abby Carlson and several helpers hover over propane burners as evening sunlight spills into the nearby orchard.

Abby Carlson:  "The entree tonight is duck tamales with Mole Verde some pickled chard stems and then sauteed chard with jalapeno . . . ." 

OK, so pickled chard stems may not sound like your typical menu item.  And that’s the point. 

Peaceful Belly owners Josie and Clay Erskine put these Farm to Fork dinners together to highlight the huge diversity of foods they grow — and Chef Carlson loves the challenge.

Abby Carlson:  "So I just sliced some chard stems, salted them and then made a little brine of vinegar, sugar, bay leaf and peppercorn. 

Guy Hand: "How’d they turn out?"

Abby Carlson:  "They turned out really nice.  Do you wanna try one?"

Guy Hand: "Sure.  Mmm, wow, really tasty." 

Abby Carlson:   "You get the sweet . .  . . "

Trust me, those pickled chard stems are great.  And that makes Josie Erskine happy.  She likes getting people excited about vegetables.

Josie Erskine: "So these meals are really interesting because they showcase vegetables more than they showcase meat.  It’s really fun to see those vegetables used so creatively and be at the forefront of the plate."

Now that doesn’t mean these meals are vegetarian.  Clay and Josie raised the ducks that grace the tamales and Abby isn’t afraid of a little duck fat either.

Josie Erskine of Peaceful Belly Farms

Abby Carlson:  "Duck fat always makes everything better."

But the emphasis is on the diverse array of vegetables these small, often organic farms like Peaceful Belly grow.  They say diversity is good not only for the tasted buds, but the soil. 

Still, learning to appreciate variety often requires breaking a few tightly-held food phobias.  Even among chefs.  Josie Erskine remembers talking up kale to one chef.

Josie Erskine: "It’s an incredible green.  There’s a lot that can be done with kale.  And this chef looked me in the face and said I will never put kale on my menu."

As she tells the story, Erskine’s looks like she’d just heard her daughter had been cut from the school play.  She’s nearly as proud of her under-appreciated produce.  

Josie Erskine: "The vegetable gets the bad wrap instead of who’s producing the vegetable or how it’s being cooked."

So, these Farm to Fork dinners are held, in part, to dispel that bad wrap.  And show there’s a whole world of foodie wonders out there worth a taste.

Abby Carlson:  "Welcome everybody to the August farm dinner.  This is our third year running."

Abby Carlson stands at the head of a long, beautifully-set table seating nearly 30 guests — all shaded under a canopy of fruit trees.

Abby Carlson:   "This is our first course obviously.  It’s marinated eggplant salad and then it has a nice little lemon cucumber with mint on top.  So please enjoy."

The eggplant is silky, delicious.  The cucumber crunchy, citrusy.  And soon Josie Erskine learns she’s won a new convert.

Josie Erskine: "Well the fun thing is tonight we have a restauranteur with us who said she doesn’t really care for eggplant and I saw her put the eggplant in her mouth and said but I really like that eggplant.  Perhaps we will start seeing eggplant ordered by that restaurant when we haven’t ever seen it ordered before."

Farm to Fork Dinner in the orchard

Seldom do you find restauranteurs, farmers and average eaters sitting, literally, at the same table. It’s a diverse, if captive audience.  Chef Carlson likes it that way.

Abby Carlson:  "People have no idea what they’re getting.  They sign up for this dinner and they’re at my mercy (laughing) and so I love it because I can do whatever I want; I can try out any recipe that I want.  And they’re kind of amazed at what they liked.  And that’s one of the things about the dinners, people see food in a whole new light."

As the sun slides and course after course keep coming, guests slip into a kind of farm to fork euphoria.

Abby Carlson savors the subtle transformations that take place over these multi-course meals.

Abby Carlson: "People start off and nobody knows each other.  At the beginning of the night it’s a little awkward and then course after course these people are building relationships with each other and it’s just another example of how food can bring people together and has a common bond for people and not just something to put in their mouths."

The Farm to Fork movement is spawning cookbooks and influencing restaurant menus nationally. 

Peaceful Belly’s dinners have even been mentioned in Bon Appetite magazine.  But, Josie and Clay Erskine just hope these meals give people a bigger appetite for eggplant — and, therefore, a little more agricultural diversity.