Outstanding in the Field

Last updated

Outstanding in the Field
Outstanding in the Field logo.svg
2019 0822VT SageFarmGoatDairy JesseSchloff Drone24.jpg
Inaugurated1999
Founder Jim Denevan
Activity Outdoor dining
Website outstandinginthefield.com

Outstanding in the Field is a recurring outdoor dining event. Founded in 1999 by Jim Denevan in the United States, it has been held in 17 countries. Local chefs create a four- or five-course menu for each event no more than a few weeks before it is held, designing the menu based on local ingredients and the event venue, and attendees do not learn what they will be served until after they arrive. Diners sit at a communal table at which meals are served family style, with one platter for every eight people. Each event lasts approximately five hours and hosts between 130 and 200 people on average.

Contents

History

Outstanding in the Field was founded in 1999 by Jim Denevan. The first outdoor dining event took place on a small farm. [1] Denevan held three dinners in 1999, two in 2000, seven in 2002, and eight in 2003, which was the year he left his position as head chef at Gabriella Café. In 2004, he hired a staff and began touring the country full-time to hold Outstanding in the Field events. [2]

As of October 2021, the event had been held in all 50 states of the United States, as well as 16 other countries. [1]

Format

The table setting at an Outstanding in the Field event Outstanding in the Field table setting on beach.jpg
The table setting at an Outstanding in the Field event

Outstanding in the Field events are dinners at which chefs from the area in which a given event is being held cook for hundreds of attendees. [3] Tickets must be purchased for admission. Between 130 and 200 people attend an average event, which lasts approximately five hours. [4]

Venue

An Outstanding in the Field event in progress Outstanding in the Field meal in progress 1.jpg
An Outstanding in the Field event in progress

Founder Jim Denevan and his staff arrive at the dinner location, usually a farm, on the day of the event to set up. [3] In the United States, they travel from one event to the next in a red-and-white Flxible bus belonging to Denevan. [5] Tables are arranged end-to-end to resemble a single long table, curved to match the features of the local landscape. Denevan sometimes also creates a site-specific piece of ephemeral art near the tables. [3]

In addition to farms, Outstanding in the Field events have been held in places including Jackson Hole, Chicago, and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. [6]

Experience

Outstanding in the Field events begin with a cocktail hour and a guided tour of the location before the meal. [7]

Food

Each meal has a four- or five-course menu that is designed by the local chefs and never repeated; attendees find out what they will be eating after arriving at the event. [3] Chefs are asked not to write the menu for the event until a few weeks before it occurs, [8] and base the meal on the event venue and the ingredients that can be sourced locally. [6] The meals are served family style, [3] with one platter of food for every eight people. [9]

Notable instances

At Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2016, an Outstanding in the Field event was held each night, with three famous chefs partnering with one local farmer for each meal. Outstanding in the Field had additionally been held at Coachella festivals from two previous years. A five-course meal on one of the nights included fresh flatbread, head cheese with herb salad, steamed Arctic char, kalbi with kimchi polenta, and a dessert of grilled stonefruit on shortcake topped with whipped cream. [10] On a different night of the same festival, the meal included spicy scallop ceviche, a merkava salad, fish and carnitas tacos, and whole pig carnitas, with a dessert of arroz con leche and honey-flavored ice cream. [11]

In 2018, an Outstanding in the Field event was held at Flying Disc Ranch to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the ranch. The four-course menu centered around dates, the main product of the ranch, and included a roasted beet salad, Kung Pao shrimp with dates, lamb shank with a date-based barbecue sauce, and finally a tres leches cupcake. [12]

In 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, Outstanding in the Field events were held at Kualoa Ranch. [7]

Related Research Articles

Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, it gradually migrated to later in the day over the 16th to 19th centuries. The word has different meanings depending on culture, and may mean a meal of any size eaten at any time of day. In particular, it is still sometimes used for a meal at noon or in the early afternoon on special occasions, such as a Christmas dinner. In hot climates, the main meal is more likely to be eaten in the evening, after the temperature has fallen.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to meals:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tableware</span> Items used for setting a table and serving food

Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of objects varies according to culture, religion, number of diners, cuisine and occasion. For example, Middle Eastern, Indian or Polynesian food culture and cuisine sometimes limits tableware to serving dishes, using bread or leaves as individual plates, and not infrequently without use of cutlery. Special occasions are usually reflected in higher quality tableware.

<i>Table dhôte</i> Multi-course restaurant menu at fixed price

In restaurant terminology, a table d'hôte menu is a menu where multi-course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called prix fixe. The terms set meal and set menu are also used. The cutlery on the table may also already be set for all of the courses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Full-course dinner</span> Dinner consisting of multiple dishes

A full-course dinner is a dinner consisting of multiple dishes, or courses. In its simplest form, it can consist of three or four courses; for example: first course, a main course, and dessert.

A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charger (table setting)</span> A dish used to have other dishes placed on

Charger plates or service plates are large plates used at full course dinners or to dress up special events like parties and weddings. Charger plates have been in use since the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas dinner</span> Meal traditionally eaten at Christmas

Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of the Christian feast day celebration, and form a significant part of gatherings held to celebrate the arrival of Christmastide. In many cases, there is a ritual element to the meal related to the religious celebration, such as the saying of grace.

The historical form of service à la russe is a manner of dining with courses brought to the table sequentially, and the food portioned on individual plates by the waiter. It contrasts with the older service à la française based on several courses brought to the table simultaneously, in an impressive display of tureens and serving dishes, with diners plating food themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State banquet</span> Banquet hosted by a head of state in their official residence for important guests

A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in his or her official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is held to celebrate diplomatic ties between the host and guest countries. Depending on time of the day, it may be referred to as a state dinner or state lunch. The size varies, but the numbers of diners may run into the hundreds.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian-American celebration of Christmas Eve with dishes of fish and other seafood.

Restaurants fall into several industry classifications, based upon menu style, preparation methods and pricing, as well as the means by which the food is served to the customer. This article mainly describes the situation in the USA, while categorisation differs widely around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zakuski</span>

Zakuski is an assortment of cold hors d'oeuvres, entrées and snacks in food culture of Russia and in Slavic-speaking countries. It is served as a course on its own or "intended to follow each shot of vodka or another alcoholic drink." The word literally means 'something to bite after'. It probably originated and was influenced through the fusion of Slavic, Viking-Nordic and Oriental cultures in early Rus' regions like the Novgorod Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eleven Madison Park</span> Restaurant in New York City

Eleven Madison Park is a New American fine dining restaurant located inside the Metropolitan Life North Building at 11 Madison Avenue in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. It has retained 3 Michelin stars since 2012, and was ranked third among The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2016, and topped the list in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollen Street Social</span> Restaurant in London, England

Pollen Street Social is a restaurant in London, England, run by chef Jason Atherton. It was Atherton's first UK solo restaurant, and in 2011 was named the best new UK restaurant by the Good Food Guide, and the best new fine-dining restaurant in London by Time Out. It currently holds one Michelin star, which it gained within a year of opening. Elements in the restaurant such as the dessert bar have been subsequently included in Atherton's other restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Eucalyptus</span> Restaurant in Jerusalem, Israel

The Eucalyptus is a Jerusalem fine dining restaurant. It is noted for its use of biblical ingredients and the use of wild plants and roots foraged from the nearby hillsides, and for preparing traditional and innovative Levantine, Arab, and Jewish cuisine.

Glen Deven Ranch is an 860 acres (350 ha) property in Big Sur that was given to the Big Sur Land Trust in 2001 by Seeley and Virginia Mudd. Composed of coastal woodlands, coastal river lands, grasslands and wildlife, it is used by the Trust each summer as an outdoor summer camp to teach inner-city youth about coastal ecosystems. The ranch is accessible via Highway 1 east on Palo Colorado Road, to Garrapatos Road. The ranch's roads also offer residents of Palo Colorado Canyon an emergency exit during a flood or fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davis Street Tavern</span> Defunct restaurant in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

Davis Street Tavern was a restaurant in Portland, Oregon's Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. Christopher Handford, chef Gabriel Kapustka, and Handford's cousin Blake Smith opened the restaurant serving American cuisine in 2008. The building that housed it was previously a bakery. Kapustka left in 2010, after being bought out by partners. Subsequent executive chefs were Scott Shampine and Katy Jane Millard. The restaurant hosted an annual supper celebrating Robert Burns. In 2012, Davis Street Tavern and the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association led an effort by industry groups to overturn the U.S. Department of Labor's rules prohibiting gratuity sharing with kitchen staff. The restaurant closed in September 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar</span> Seafood restaurant in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar is a seafood restaurant in Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington.

References

  1. 1 2 Turpin, Amber (October 27, 2021). "Make your own herbed olive oil with pro tips from Outstanding in the Field". The Mercury News . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  2. ↑ Kahn, Howie (March 28, 2008). "The Wandering Chef". GQ . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Beebe, Lisa (October 27, 2021). "How an Artist's Intricate Ephemeral Art and Communal Dinners Bring People Together". KCET . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Events We Love: Farm-Table Dinners with Outstanding in the Field". Garden Collage Magazine . July 18, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  5. ↑ Olsen, Patricia R. (July 28, 2017). "A Mobile Office for Farm-Based Dinners Travels the Country". The New York Times . Interview of Jim Denevan. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Williams, Monica (August 9, 2021). "Epic Outdoor Dinner Outstanding in the Field Returns to Michigan". Eater Detroit . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  7. 1 2 Cooper, Jeanne (October 12, 2018). "Popular farm dinner series sets the table in Hawaii". San Francisco Chronicle . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  8. ↑ French, Agatha (April 23, 2018). "This chef has put on pop-up dinners in 15 countries and all 50 states". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  9. ↑ Mather, Lindsey (August 2, 2018). "How to Make Sure Your Outdoor Dinner Party Doesn't Suck". Architectural Digest . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  10. ↑ "A Look at The 5 Course Menu of Outstanding in the Field at Coachella". Food & Wine . April 19, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  11. ↑ Stern, Claire (April 18, 2016). "Outstanding in the Field Review 2016". InStyle . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  12. ↑ Berger, Laurie (November 17, 2018). "Dine in the Wild". Coachella Magazine . Retrieved November 12, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.