IMAGINE YOURSELF on a bucolic farmstead, the foods on your plate grown or raised on the surrounding terra firma. More than a culinary experience, a farm dinner is about learning – where your food comes from and why that’s important. Mark your calendars. Wisconsin-grown ingredients are on full display at these very special meals.
1. Together Farms
JUNE 14, JULY 12, AUG. 16, SEPT. 13 | MONDOVI
The vibe is warm and far from stuffy. The farms’ stewards, Andy and Stephanie Schneider, offer four courses cooked by hired chefs and served on mismatched china “for a more homey feel,” says Stephanie. Their daughters do all the serving. In keeping with the farm-immersive feeling, Stephanie tells dinner-goers what’s special about the meat they’re eating or the ingredients harvested sometimes that very day. The couple’s beef cattle might be grazing in the nearby field – and other friends, too: “Occasionally a piglet may escape to check out what’s going on, and all the farm dogs are usually around, like Mister Fluffypants.”
2. Folk Song Farm
JUNE 18, JULY 23, AUG. 20 | RICHFIELD
Dairy farmers Dwight and Shelly Mayer drive guests around Folk Song in a horse-drawn carriage. Their catered, five-course dinners are served family-style and use produce from the nearby farmers markets. The cuisine is typically Swiss-German, in keeping with the Mayer heritage. They also line up a local band to perform for each event. In June, that’s a 14-piece 1950s-style big band. In July, it’s Swiss yodelers and alphorns.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
3. Old Buffalo Ranch
MONTHLY, JUNE-SEPTEMBER | BURLINGTON
Each of the dinners on this 600-acre farm/ranch – a sibling of Milwaukee’s Kettle Range Meat Co. – features a different theme. The format is consistent: a kickoff with welcome cocktails and a farm tour (meet the resident Red Angus beef cattle), followed by a buffet-style spread cooked on wood fire and incorporating grass-fed meats from Kettle Range.
4. Hidden Acres Farm
FIRST SATURDAY MONTHLY, JUNE TO NOVEMBER | SISTER BAY
“Farm and forest to table” is how the organizers refer to the five-course, chef-driven meals, held in an open-kitchen/dining room that offers views of the surrounding hardwood forest. Chef Matt Chambas and his co-owner Jamie Mead spotlight the farm’s produce (hearty greens, squash, aronia berries), along with locally raised/caught meat and fish.
5. Outstanding in the Field
JULY 30 | DODGEVILLE
“Wisconsin Foodie” host/chef Luke Zahm draws inspiration from the many farms in the Driftless Area (home of Zahm’s Driftless Café) for this dinner. His cooking will also bring acclaimed artisan maker Uplands Cheese, host of this event, center stage. Expect a spectacular view of the farm’s rolling hills from the communal dining table set up next to Uplands’ dairy barn.
6. Hinchley’s Dairy Farm
AUG. 18 | CAMBRIDGE
Including a cheese reception and farm tour (often by tractor-pulled wagon), the dinner will offer five courses, each featuring an ingredient from a different Wisconsin farm. Those range from cheeses and yogurt to apples, fresh vegetables and pheasant.
7. Fondy Farm Feast
AUG. 27 | FONDY FARM AT MEQUON NATURE PRESERVE
Served family style, this annual feast incorporates ingredients grown on the 40-acre Fondy Farm Project (these growers also sell their goods at Milwaukee’s Fondy Farmers Market). Amilinda Restaurant chef/owner Gregory León leads the lineup of participating chefs.
