A Summer of Food
Most summers we try to keep up with our small garden, run out to the coast for seafood and waves. However this summer kicked off with a special invitation to a one of a kind chef campout experience at Little Farm by the Sea put together in collaboration with Preservation Meat Collective. Among other invitees were Tokeland Hotel, Marjorie, Il Nido, Copine, Beast & Cleaver, Chicory, Agate, Archipelago, Norcino and Deru catering who brought a killer grilling set up that would entertain us that day and the next. We would spend the day butchering a hog, prepping delights everyone had brought to share for the evening feast. We snacked on delicious cured meats from Norcino, Heather and Zac brought oysters from Tokeland, I popped bottles of Ale Apothecary and gleefully geeked out on pairings. We ventured around the farm to learn about their duck program. Nearly everyone cooked some form of the hog for us to all try. I dare say I even ate raw pig heart, can’t say I’d do it again, but adventure on! We ate and talked late into the evening around the waning grill and fire pits. We shared stories of the last few years, ideas around sustainability, food programs, projects and upcoming plans in this ever changing dining culture. It would plant a seed to lead us into where we are today.
We would continue to reflect on the impact that campout had on how we see ourselves and our vision for sustainable, accessible food whilst supporting small local farmers in keeping with my Caribbean roots. We headed out to the coast for waves, seafood and to check out Tokeland Hotel and connect with newly found friends. It was far more than anything we’d anticipated. The warmth of greetings. The historian in me was enraptured by the thoughtfully curated eclectic decor filling an array of rooms weaving history, art and the PNW in a way that can only be built upon years of intention, love and community. We’ve since been out three times, the first just Anthony and I. We explored the grounds with their small herb garden, coops & pens with pigs, turkeys, chickens, geese and some friendly pups that roam the grounds keeping it clean of fallen morsels. We shared southern comfort food; a chicken fried pork chop, collard greens, mashed potatoes, gravy, buttery biscuit and truly, the most incredible glee inducing fried chicken of my life. On our last trip we were again honored to be invited to their Farm Dinner paying homage to the farmers, fishmongers & producers that support them. We sat down to an extended table laden with decor of garden offerings like string peas, gourds and flowers. The feast lasted well into the night with course after shared courses of cheeses, Norcino meats and lardo (a buttery rich pure cured fat, delicious when smeared like butter on bread), end of summer salad, coconut miso braised greens, foraged mushrooms, pork hocks, osso bucco, skillet berry cobbler and whipped cream garnished with edible flowers. It was a magical evening set in what felt like an otherworldly place filled with laughter, community, fresh flavorful delicious food, drinks and people. It is now a destination well etched into our sensory memories it evokes and will from now on be a must destination for our summers.
