Churchview Farm dinner becomes a pickup pop-up
Each year since 2013, Tara Rockacy has opened her third-generation organic farm, Churchview Farm in Baldwin Borough, to the public for dinners where chefs turn her produce into a gourmet multicourse meal served at a long communal table under a picnic pavilion.
This year, social distancing edicts has forced her to change the format.
Ms. Rockacy and her event planner, Emeran Irby, put heads together and have created a new dinner program called Pickup Pop Ups.
Ticketholders can come to the farm at staggered arrival times, park their cars, stroll the grounds with a glass of bubbly while wearing masks and follow social distancing, look at the goats, chat with Ms. Rockacy and the chefs, and then pick up a restaurant meal to take home and enjoy.
For those who want to avoid people at all costs, there’s also a no-contact pickup option available.
At first, Ms. Rockacy was a little disappointed. Last year’s kickoff was “Primavera,” a dinner featuring “all the best spring produce from the farm,” she said.
Dave DiAnoia of DiAnoia’s Eatery in the Strip District made some of his fresh homemade pasta to star alongside vegetables from the farm. About 65 guests showed up to break bread and enjoy the meal together at the farm.
Ms. Rockacy had planned the same kickoff event this year, too, but as the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic descended, she felt sad that “that beautiful, exciting kickoff wasn’t going to be able to happen.”
The disappointment turned to excitement when she and Ms. Irby came up with Pickup Pop Ups.
They have added little touches that would help guests to re-create the scene at home. The meal package includes a bottle of wine, a bundle of herbs or another fresh Churchview Farm product, a bouquet of flowers, personalized seating cards and a curated playlist along with the three-course vegetarian meal. The package costs $165 for a meal for two people.
“I thought it would be fun for you to be on your patio or your back porch or in your yard” and enjoy all the
components of a Churchview Farm dinner right down to the place cards, Ms. Rockacy said.
The DiAnoia’s “Primavera” kickoff happened on Memorial Day, and guests took home some of Mr. DiAnoia’s fresh pasta, with boiling instructions, and sauces. Other courses were packaged on the side.
The remaining dates and chefs are:
• June 1: Brian Pekarcik of Spoon with chef Jamilka Borges.
• June 8: Csilla Thackray of Legume Bistro and Butterjoint All Day.
• June 14: Kate Romane of Black Radish Kitchen.
• June 22: Justin Steel of Bar Marco.
• June 29: Chris Bonfili of Bonfire.
The meal on June 14 is a Sunday brunch; the others are Monday dinners. Tickets for 35 couples are being sold for each event. Ticketholders will be assigned staggered arrival times in order to help maintain social distancing. Information is available at churchviewfarmpgh.com/pick-up-popup.
Ms. Romane has offered takeout brunch meals in the past from her Black Radish Kitchen space, and will offer some of those same elements for the Churchview Farm brunch. Most items will be fully prepared but might include reheating instructions, she said. Although she is disappointed that she won’t be able to serve the meal to diners, she said, “it will be nice to see people” at the farm.
So will the farm dinners return to the more traditional format later this summer?
“It depends on my comfort level as a business owner,” Ms. Rockacy said. “I need to know it is responsible to have people here” in larger numbers. Regardless, she’s planning events with chefs Brian Little of Superior Motors (a vegan meal), Neil Blazin of Driftwood Oven and Curtis Gamble of Station later in the summer. Details about format — whether pickup or on-farm meals — will be available on the Churchview website as they become available.
Mr. Gamble said he will probably make dishes that are staples at Station, such as coriander roasted carrots or some of his classic salads.
Station has been closed for most of the spring, but Mr. Gamble is expecting to reopen in early June with takeout meal packages that could look a lot like what he will serve at Churchview Farm, he said.
The farm setting helps to break up the monotony, he said, especially because it helps chefs get out of the building. It also helps chefs to make an impact on the guests as they meet the diners face to face.
In fact, one couple who had just started dating when they attended his first Churchview Farm dinner a few years ago, have asked him to prepare the meal for their wedding reception at the farm in August, assuming pandemic protocols loosen.
Ms. Rockacy believes the setting will be particularly appealing this year.
Giving people a chance to stroll the grounds when they pick up their food will be “really important for people” who need the peaceful landscape during this time of upheaval, she said.