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Chef Matthew Varga with the Outstanding in the Field table overlooking the Sakonnet River

Outstanding in the Field, the “roving culinary adventure” returns to Rhode Island for not one, but two exciting dinners on local farms this year. First, on Saturday, August 31, Gracie’s Chef Matthew Varga and Pastry Chef Melissa Denmark return for their second Outstanding dinner, this time in Smithfield at Blackbird Farm, producers of some of the finest beef, pork and eggs in the area (disclosure: this writer works with Blackbird Farm). Varga, Denmark and many of the Gracie’s crew descended upon Aquidneck Farms in Portsmouth for last year’s Outstanding in the Field dinner and it was definitely a night to remember.

Confident that the Rhode Island has some of the most supportive farm and food lovers in the country, Outstanding in the Field decided to produce a second dinner in the area this year on Tuesday, September 3. It will be the first event for Chef Benjamin Sukle’s newly christened birch and will be held at Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown. Both dinners begin with hors d’oeuvres and a walking tour of the farms and then dinner is served in a scenic, spectacularly designed section of each farm.

Outstanding in the Field’s mission is “to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.” Each dinner is $210 per person, excluding tax and ticket fee, and can be ordered online. These dinners have always sold out in the past, sometimes in as quickly as a couple of days.  Tickets can be found here:

• Gracie’s at Blackbird Farm on Saturday, August 31
• birch at Sweet Berry Farm on Tuesday, September 3