By Lisa Carolin
Anyone interested in supporting local farmers and the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation’s farmers markets, is invited to participate in a healthy, and delicious Farm to Table Fabulous Feast, a seven-course dinner, which will take place on Sunday, Sept. 22, beginning at 4 p.m. at Gordon Hall in Dexter, located at 8341 Island Lake Road.
There will be chefs participating from Chelsea’s Smokehouse 52, Silver Maples, Manchester’s Two Black Sheep, the Dexter Pub, The Cedars, and Fresh Forage, owned by two Chelsea High School graduates.
The first Farm to Table dinner took place in Chelsea in 2016, and will eventually take place in all five towns in the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation’s service area: Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge.
Anne Young, manager of the Dexter Winter Marketplace, is this year’s chair and is thrilled to have the event take place at historic Gordon Hall.
“I love that Gordon Hall was willing and able to house our event,” said Young. “It’s the perfect location since it’s so important in the history and the beginnings of Dexter.”
The Dexter Area Historical Society will offer tours of the hall at the event.
Ashley Tomasi, coalition coordinator for the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation, says the Farm to Table dinner helps to increase awareness about all that the farmers markets have to offer and helps fund operational costs and programming opportunities like music and children’s events.
“It is wonderful to see all five communities come together for such a great cause of promoting fresh local food,” said Tomasi. “It is fun to see how each community makes the event their own and showcases their community each year.”
Tickets cost $50, and the menu includes beverages from Lone Oak Vineyard Estate & Tootsie’s Brewery and the Dexter Cider Mill; appetizers including bruschetta with baguettes from LA Baguette and Owl Hollow Bakery, Caprese salad with mozzarella from Fluffy Bottom Creamery; and seasonal soup from Chef Thomas Zigman of Silver Maples. Chef Phil from Chelsea’s Smokehouse Barbecue 52 will provide one of the main courses, and dessert will be a raspberry pastry by Chef Paul Cousins with raspberries from Berry Hill Farm and Mooville ice cream from the Dexter Creamery.
For tickets, contact Shawn Personke at [email protected], and they are also available at the Chelsea Farmers Markets.
