Recap from the 4th Annual Back on the Farm
Friday evening, September 30, 2016, guests and supporters of Atlanta History Center’s Back on the Farm joined up on the campus of the historic Smith Family Farm for an unforgettable farm to table dinner. From the entrance of the pathway leading into the farm to the Grand Overlook, absolutely everything about this event was exquisite! Back on the Farm is an annual charity dinner that raises funds in support of the farm animals and the overall property upkeep where these beloved animals live. Each year, a team of celebrity chefs (this year, under the direction of Executive Chef Todd Richards), all gather to prepare a grand meal inspired by historic farm foods. And let me tell ya’, as soon as I bent the corner coming up on the farm, I was greeted by the farm dinner servers decked in all black serving us delectable items such as braised short ribs with mashed Kabocha with brown rice, seared scallops over yellow corn grits and lemon chervil salad or my absolute fav, the smoked chicken deviled eggs!
In fact, there were 7 different hors d’oeuvres stations laid out around the farm that everyone was able to stop by and enjoy. The attire for the evening was blue jean chic and everyone looked their absolute best. In conjunction with all of the guests present, I thought it was really cool how several of the women who work for the Atlanta History Center were dressed in traditional garbs from the time period and helped serve, interpret stories from that era and help facilitate the LIVE auction in the Grand Overlook. And let us not forget all of the animals who were right there with us on the farm that night! There was Tallulah (the turkey), the hens, the pairs of goats and sheep, and of course, the celebrity farm cat, Dodger who was laid out across one of the beds in the historic homes with no worries at all. The time slated for cocktail/ hors d’oeuvres was for 6PM and was followed by the highly anticipated dinner in the Grand Overlook at 8PM.
All of a sudden, in the midst of the great networking taking place during the cocktail mixer, we hear the sound of the farm bell resounding to get everyone to move toward the dinner hall. As the crowd makes their way up away from the farm, and up the stairway into the Atlanta History Center main entrance, we enter the dining hall beautifully set up with long family style tables styled by The Spin Style Agency. The menu that night included heirloom tomatoes and roasted beets with feta cheese and Georgia organic olive oil, buttermilk biscuits and cornbread, ginger glazed carrots, marinated Edamame, mac-n-cheese, Springer Mountain Farms Southern Fried Chicken, roasted pork loin and finally, some very yummy banana pudding! Not only were we stuffed from all of this goodness, but all the food was impeccable from start to finish. The evening included a silent auction followed by a LIVE auction indoors where the crowd very generously bided on several items including a Large Big Green Egg, a Hearth-cooked Dinner for 12 at Smith Family Farm, Cocktails for 50 on the farm and more.
There was just so much to say about how elegant and comfortable the atmosphere about this whole event was. Kudos to Katherine Hoogerwerf (Director of Development Events) and all the key staff members for pulling off such an outstanding event. And big thanks to all the supporters, donors and especially to all the chefs that made this menu great!
Angie Mosier, Chair
Todd Richards, Executive Chef of White Oak Kitchen & Chef/Owner of Richards' Southern Fried, Event Executive Chef
Erika Council
of Southern Soufflé
Julio Delgado
of JP Atlanta
Seth Freedman
of PeachDish
Jared Hall
of One Flew South
Mihoko Obuani
of Nexto
Matthew Raiford
of The Farmer and The Larder,
Brunswick, GA
Guy Wong
of Ton Ton, Le Fat and Miso Izakaya
FEATURED BARTENDERS
Tiffanie Barriere
of Southern National, Mobile, AL
Miles MacQuarrie
of Kimball House
Jerry Slater
of Flying Pig Hospitality
Krista Lark Slater
of Flying Pig Hospitality
FEATURED STYLIST
The Spin Style Agency
For more information about happenings such as these at the Atlanta History Center, please visit www.atlantahistorycenter.com.
