‘Feast of the Fields’ Shows How Farm-to-Table is Done!
SARATOGA SPRINGS – This delicious event, showcasing ‘Saratoga County’s Bounty,’ if you will, is always well-received and well-attended. But in it’s 14th year, on Thursday, September 19, it seemed as if everything got kicked up a notch or two.
My first hint was before I even arrived; as always about 45 minutes in (I like people to be lubricated – better photos, as you shall soon see) to the Feast of the Fields – hosted by Saratoga PLAN at Saratoga National Golf Club. You enter off Route 9P and follow a sweeping road for about 3/10 of a mile, before making a dogleg to to left, and the club is about 3/10 of a mile more.
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I say this because, well before we reached that dogleg, there were cars parked on either side of the road, and the Club’s shuttle bus was busy ferrying people back and forth. I figured that in addition to the event, there was some other big meeting, or wedding happening.
Nope. It was just the slow food devotees at Feast of the Fields, in massive numbers. the place was jamming!
I heard someone official say that the attendance was about 600, but it seemed like a lot more. Except when you were waiting on line for food and beverage… the offerings were so plentiful, and the lines moved so fast that everyone seemed happy and nurtured…
…and those happy, nurtured people responded to live auctioneer Tom Stebbens, raising thousands for two major “Fund-a-need” areas: Student Internship Stipends, and Trail Maintenance Equipment. The action was brisk at the plentiful silent auction offerings, which spanned the entire length of the upper level of the outdoor area,
We’ll update this post when those totals are counted. In the meantime, I can say that my two favorite offerings of the evening were a surf & turf combo: Terrine of smoked Hudson Valley Fish Farm Trout from Chef David Britton and Siros Restaurant; and the “home team’s” (Chef Tracey Kwiecien of Prime at Saratoga National) Smoked Brisket.
Mandy fell in love with the “Mango Coco-Colada” Mocktail as well. However, you could have avoided all these items, and found several superb choices that would please any palette- from crudites to dessert. All the Chefs, beverage purveyors, and their teams did a great job being accessible to foodies, and keeping their stations well-stocked from what I could see.
Which is how it should be – at Saratoga’s original Farm-to-table event. Enjoy the gallery.
Arthur Gonick – September 23, 2019
Gallery: How Farm-to-table is Done!
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