Outstanding in the Field.

Okay, this is something that I think is super cool.

And it looks like this:

or this

or this



It’s an event called ‘Outstanding in the Field’--dinners held in locations all over the world—from Ohio to Tuscany. Their mission is to reconnect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it. Very granola. But sometimes I wish I was a hippie, so I like the idea of this.

According to their website, for the past 10 years, they've been setting up "restaurants without walls" at farms, gardens, mountain tops, caves, islands, and ranches--or even sometimes inside, at a greenhouse or museum. The meals are prepared by a well-known chef in the area, using all local and organic ingredients. And everyone eats at the same long table--the farmers, producers, artisans, and diners.

Cool, huh? It's a pretty expensive evening, however, with tickets at $200 a pop. I think it would be totally worth it though, if I had a little extra cash laying around. Just grab a bunch of friends who appreciate good food and wine, buy tickets, and love it for the experience.

After all, Virginia Woolf said that 'one cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.'