Jonathan Rapp, the renowned chef know for cooking from the ground up, loves doing Dinners at the Farm at Madison's own Barberry Hill Farm for many reasons. And there is one reason that is at the top of his list.
"It's like coming back home with Kelly and Kingsley and their family and their helpers," he said of the Goddard family that owns the farm.
The Goddard family is an institution itself in Madison. They not only run the farm, and the farm stand on Boston Post Road, Kingsley Goddard also runs the Farmer's Market on Friday's on the town green. The same care and attention to detail that they bring to the food they share with the community every week goes into the farm dinner they host every year.
In addition to a fabulous, locally sourced meal, the ticket price of $150 each includes the satisfaction of knowing the money is going in part to many great causes near and dear to the heart of anyone who loves food and loves all things local. Connecticut Farmland Trust, the Working Lands Alliance, The New Connecticut Farmer's Alliance, and, this year, the Connecticut Region 4 School Kitchens are but a few. Check out the whole list by going to this link.
Rapp and his team were busy Thursday morning cleaning, assembling, and cooking the locally sourced dishes that will be served to guests this weekend. Rapp said he is looking forward to cooking with the abundance from Barberry Hill Farm. "Beautiful chickens, Kingsley's wonderful heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, the first fingerling tomatoes," said Rapp, while juggling duties on Thursday morning that included cleaning the chickens, making stock, checking on supplies, cutting checks, and perusing the menu options.
Rapp said he also is excited about working with honey from Barberry Hill Farm.
In addition to the wealth from our local farm, Rapp will be using seafood right of the docks in Stonington, additional vegetables from Scott's and White Gate Farm, and cherries from Belltown Hill Orchards in Glastonbury.
As of Thursday morning, the menu options were being refined as Rapp and his team determined what was best and most fresh. Options for Thursday night included a lobster salad with toasted almonds, maybe some garlic and thyme, served with the last of the season's snap peas and the first of the season's green beans.
There may be risotto with corn stock and tomato leaves. Leaves? Yes, leaves, Rapp says.
"It will give it that wonderful taste and smell of tomatoes," he said. It will also include sauteed corn and some Stonington shrimp on top.
The dinners start Thursday at Barberry Hill Farm and run through Sunday. Tickets to the dinners are going fast, and one night is already sold out. To find out about ticket availability, check out this link on the Dinners at the Farm website.
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