Fayette Farm to Table dinner to highlight local agriculture
The Fayette County Farm Bureau will host its annual Farm to Table Dinner on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 10 Valley Farms in Connellsville.
“The purpose of the dinner is basically to put the consumer with the product,” Farm Bureau President Darrell Becker said. “We try to let people know that every item at this meal is sourced by Fayette County farmers.”
This is the second time the dinner will be held at 10 Valley Farms, 183 Duck Pond Road.
Farm owners John and Rose Joseph have donated all the smoked brisket for one of the meal’s main courses, Becker said, and their daughter raised the Fayette County 4-H Grand Champion carcass goat that will be served with cucumber tzatziki sauce as an appetizer. The cucumber will come from Redrange Farm in New Salem.
Other appetizers include lamb stew made with lamb from the Fayette County 4-H livestock auction and vegetables from His & Hers Market Garden in Farmington, Duda’s Farm in Brownsville, and Redrange Farm; smoked trout from Laurel Hill Trout Farm, served on a baguette; and roasted beet salad sourced from His & Hers Market Garden and Duda’s Farm.
In addition to the brisket, main courses will be chicken cordon bleu from Footprints Farms in Gibbon Glade, served with cheese from Jackson Farms in New Salem and smoked pork loin from Fruit Hill Farms in East Millsboro; corn casserole from Duda’s Farm; roasted eggplant, squash and zucchini from His & Hers Market Garden, Duda’s Farm and Redrange Farm; and garlic mashed potatoes from Duda’s Farm.
Dessert options will be peach cobbler with homemade whipped cream, made with peaches from Duda’s Farm and cream from Harmony Acres in Belle Vernon; fresh-cut fruit from Duda’s Farm; and cookies from the Corner Creamery in Uniontown.
Christian Klay Winery in Chalk Hill will provide the wine, and there will be beer from Yough River Brewing Co. in Connellsville as well as peach moonshine from Ridge Runner Distillery in Chalk Hill.
The meal will be prepared by Kathleen Hughes of Jerry’s Catering.
Local farmers will also speak, said Becker.
“We’re educating the general public about the plight of the farmer – what they do, where meat comes from,” Becker said. “We need to educate people about what farming is all about. It’s a great life, but it’s tough.”
Becker said the dinner is about “focusing on the farmers and putting them in front of the people that are buying their products.”
Last year, he said, 167 people attended the dinner, and this year’s ticket sales already have exceeded 100.
“It’s just a fun event, and it gets the farmers out to talk to the public,” Becker said. “We’re going to have a good time, eat great food and people are going to learn about agriculture.”
The dinner begins at 5 p.m., and the deadline to purchase tickets is Saturday, Aug. 12. Tickets are available at the Fayette Chamber of Commerce, 65 W Main Street, Uniontown, by calling 724-437-4571 or online at www.fayettechamberstore.com.