DUMMERSTON — When owner/chef Tristan Toleno's Riverview Cafe in Brattleboro closed at the end of last year, it was unclear what would become of the “Feast on the Farm” series.
Feast on the Farm originated five years ago to give the public an opportunity to dine on local food at its source - the farm where it was produced - and to raise money for the Vermont Fresh Network, a collaboration between farms, food producers and chefs to promote local food and agriculture.
Toleno has been a big part of Feast on the Farm, and had donated his services and cooked some memorable meals at farms around Windham County.
“We didn't know what Tristan was going to do,” said Deb Titus, owner of Sweet Tree Farm in Dummerston, which has hosted Feast on the Farm since its inception. “He's always been a strong supporter of local food and it wouldn't be the same without him.”
Fortunately for area localvores, Toleno is going to continue as the Feast's primary chef, and he will be at Sweet Tree Farm on Wednesday, July 27 at 6 p.m. for the first of this year's events.
“I wasn't ready to let go of it just yet,” said Toleno.
However, he has plenty of reasons for why he could have bowed out. Toleno is in the middle of his work toward an MBA in Managing for Sustainability at Marlboro College Graduate Center. He has also started a new catering business, Entera Artisanal Catering, that focuses on using locally-grown food, and his mobile wood-fired pizza oven is a big hit at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market.
Titus said Toleno will be bringing his oven to the farm, not to make pizza, but to try a new method for cooking the short-ribs which she said were a hit at last year's dinner. Rather than finishing the ribs on the grill, they will be finished in the pizza oven.
Also on the menu is grilled steak salad with summer tomatoes, chili and cornbread, and maple barbecue brisket. Green Mountain Orchard of Putney will provide blueberry pie for dessert.
The 100 percent grass-fed beef all comes from Sweet Tree Farm. Titus said all the animals are born and raised on her farm. “From birth to the freezer, we know exactly what they've eaten and how they've been raised,” she said.
Over the five years of doing the Feast, Titus said they've learned a lot. “The first year, we ran out of food after serving close to 300 people,” she said. “That's when we learned we needed to sell tickets and we needed to limit the seating to 150. You can't do a good job with the food if you try to serve more people than that.”
If the weather is nice, Titus said the dinner will be served in the shade of the farm's huge maple tree with a view of the hayfields and hills. In case of rain, the event will move to one of the farm buildings.
Rain or shine, the Feast is usually a sell-out.
“Every year is a little different, and every year, it manages to work,” said Toleno.
In past years, Fairwinds Farm in Brattleboro has been host to a late-summer outdoor feast. Titus said that extenuating circumstances at the farm this year resulted in the cancellation of this year's dinner. “Hopefully, their Harvest Feast will return next year,” she said.
The end-of-season Feast at the Scott Farm in Dummerston is scheduled for Oct. 22. It usually features a variety of local meats and appetizers prepared using the farm's heritage apples.
Tickets for the July 27 Feast are $18 for adults, $10 for children. They available at the Putney Food Co-op, the Rigani Wood-Fired Pizza booth at the Brattleboro Farmers' Market, and at Sweet Tree Farm during store hours at its stand on Route 5. For more information, contact Tristan Toleno 802-579-5511 or Deb Titus 802-254-4634.