Feast in the field
Pop-up kitchen takes over farm in Victoria-by-the-Sea
A culinary event last weekend brought the best food from the land and sea to a pop-up kitchen in the middle of a P.E.I. field. Outstanding In The Field (OITF) hosted its first ever Atlantic Canada event Saturday in Victoria-by-the-Sea, with chef Emily Wells creating a meal with local ingredients. OITF was founded in 1999 by artist and professional chef Jim Denevan and has grown to host events around the globe with the group pairing up creative local cuisine and scenic settings while honouring “local farmers and food artisans.” Summerside residents Kathy and Dennis Terry have been requesting OITF host an event in P.E.I. for the past 18 months. Dennis, who used to live in Newport Beach, Calif., was a fan of Denevan’s art and intrigued by the artist’s farm to fork initiative, which aims to reconnect consumers with the origins of their food.
“His vision morphed from art to bringing food directly to the consumer from the farmer. It’s a whole farm to table experience,” said Kathy.
She and Dennis moved to P.E.I. from Ontario in 2014.
“We fell so in love with the Island… we never went back (to Ontario). When we chose to come and live here on the Island, we thought what a great fit (for OITF).”
The Victoria OITF event focused on the P.E.I. staple of potatoes, with host farmers Melis and John Visser of Visser Produce.
“The real beauty of potatoes is the potato field and especially a potato field… with an epic view of the water and the rolling red hills,” states the event’s description. “This year is the 150th birthday of Canada and we can’t wait to celebrate.” On the website, Denevan describes the central idea that motivates OITF: “Celebrating the people whose hard work brings good food to the table. AKA, all the people that are outstanding in the field.” The weekend event was sold out. A video of the event can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbEeGF97OHo