I can taste is all over again looking at these pictures. We are accidental farmers. We didn’t intend to raise livestock for a living. But, I had a passion for food and growing and raising our own. That passion turned into a major love of feeding others and branched out to us raising that quality food for our community. When I dreamed of dinners in the orchard, I saw all of this. The linens, the food, the people. So, hugging the guests as they arrived felt like I was hugging family who had come to celebrate. It fuels my soul and fills my cup.
As always, Chef Josh from Simply Sound Catering smashed it all out of the park. His ability to take our protein and expertly craft it into such decadent dishes continually amazes me. This year, we were grateful to pair with Santucci Farms in Mount Vernon for the vegetables paired with the proteins. Josh walked their fields after raiding our freezers to bring farm fresh goodness to life. It also brought a little bit of our childhood in Skagit Valley to our table, too!
Taking my vision and helping us curate items for our dinners was Alissa Lawton of Haven Illume and Wander Event Rentals. We were so excited to pair with Alissa again to create our beautiful menus and table scape. Alissa also helped us curate items to have in our permanent collection of items to create the perfect seasonal table scape for each dinner we hold. I am so grateful for her friendship and her hard earned skills. She rolled up to the farm, eager to tackle what ever we needed help with to make this event absolutely magical!
The flowers were grown by our (country) neighbor at Floralie Flower Farm here in Custer. Jodi grows the most gorgeous blooms that Alissa arranged to create the ideal atmosphere to enjoy our family style dining table.
A huge thank you to the rest of our team who made this happen. Our ranch hand, Kat, helped us prepare after a season of intense “busy” & to Bryan, who worked his butt off before, during and after the dinner to bring Josh’s expertise to the table. To April, Josh’s wife & new momma for helping in the kitchen, bringing the mini pies and beautiful profiteroles together. (Literally, her baby was 2 and a half weeks and the sweetest little sleeper the whole time!) To Levi and Gracie, you worked so hard to make sure everyone was so happy, had water and earned every bit of the praise you got for your hard work. I will never forget these nights working alongside you and hope the sweet memories carry with you for a lifetime.
But, more than anything, thank you to the guests who enjoyed this magical night with us here on our ranch in the Pacific Northwest. We were able to bring together our passions of connection and food for another night we won’t soon forget here on the ranch.
If you’re looking to join us for one of these epic dinners, we still have a few seats available in August on the farm. Click HERE for more info.
[…] for another one of our favorite evenings under the orchard. Want a recap? Check out the blog post HERE all about it! Now….for the recipes you’ve been waiting for. Chef Josh has offered us […]