Aug 14, 2013


wo local farmers are jumping on the band wagon and are following the latest trend of bringing urban foodies from the big cities of Ottawa and Toronto to enjoy a unique culinary experience right in their own rural farm yards.

Allaine Nordin and Tom Waller, owners of Elm Tree Farm near Arden, have been farming since 1995. They grow market vegetables, cover crops and sell CSA (Community-Shared Agriculture) shares to members in Ottawa and Sharbot Lake. The couple recently premiered their first "Double Dig It" event at the farm on August 10, where they hosted a dinner and farm tour for 45 diners under a semi-covered hoop-style greenhouse.

Asked how the idea for such an event came about, Nordin said that she heard about an American man who holds similar events in California, called Outstanding in the Field, where guests are bussed to farms and local chefs in the area are invited to cook for the guests. She recalled “We thought it was a great idea and I thought let's bring a bus load of people to our farm here and use the food that we produce to create the meal.”

Nordin invited six prominent chefs from Ottawa and under the leadership of head chef Mike Frank of Melos in Ottawa, they all came together to create a lavish three-course meal based on the farm fresh ingredients grown at Elm Tree.

When I visited the event just prior to dinner time, the chefs were gathered at the far end of the dining area, grilling eggplant, with head chef Mike putting the finishing touches on his gravy. As dinner time got close the diners, many of whom were from Ottawa and Toronto, began to be seated at one long, white-clothed table that was decorated with hundreds of fresh cut flowers and looked like something from a European film set. The roof of the hoop garden setting was open on one side, offering diners gorgeous views of the lush and gently rolling hills of the vegetable gardens. Allaine informed me that the site was created especially for the event and will be used in the future to hold other similar events.

The menu included a number of appetizers matched with various Ontario wine pairings. The appetizers included a turnip soup and turnip salsa, zucchini buttered toasts, a beet salad with lime arugula, pumpkin seeds and pistachios and polenta crisps, Bonnechere gouda cheese, a family-style chicken main course featuring a number of vegetable sides including a garden green salad, braised kale and tomatoes, smoke-roasted potatoes, maple-glazed shallots, and grilled zucchini, eggplant and red peppers. Dessert was strawberry ice cream served with lemon short bread, hemp granola and cocoa dusted almonds. Sous-chef David Cloutier was thrilled to be part of the event and said, “Everything is so amazing here, the views, the smells, the food. This is definitely something I could do everyday.”

One guest at the event was Central Frontenac mayor, Janet Gutowski, who spoke to me about how local food and farming is fast becoming a main tourist attraction in the area. “We have such a pristine environment to protect and it's important that we guide economic development instead of just letting it happen haphazardly. Why not build culture in our economy around good food? It is creative events of this kind that help to greatly enrich the quality of life here.”

For those who missed the event, Tom Waller is a regular vendor at the Shabot Lake Farmers Market, which takes place at Oso beach every Saturday until Thanksgiving from 9am-1pm. For more information about Elm Tree farm visit www.elmtreefarm.ca

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