Outstanding in the Field Comes to Edmond on Sunday

Oklahoma dining continues its attempt to shoulder its way into national prominence gets a boost on Sunday when chef/artist/surfer Jim Denevan’s Outstanding in Field rolls into Edmond.

What began as a series of farm dinners in the late 1990s is now a roving culinary rock show that dazzles local foodies, gourmets, gourmands in an attempt to reconnect diners with the land and those who cultivate it.  Organic food specialists Crestview Farms, owned by Susan Graff, in Edmond will host the event Sunday afternoon, starting at 2 p.m. Local chefs Jonathon Stranger and Russ Johnson of Ludivine will lend their expertise in the kitchen and with local ingredients.

Guests tour the farm, drink wine and culminate with a family style service. Wines are paired with each course. During the meal, the local producers who provided ingredients for the menu talk about their respective crafts and diners are encouraged to ask questions.

The concept began in 1999 and has popped up its long tables at farms, gardens, mountain tops, grottos, islands and ranches.

Ingredients for the meal will come mostly from Crestview Farms but also from local producers from around the region.

Back in the summer of 1998, chef Denevan hosted a series of  producers dinners at Gabriella Cafe in Santa Cruz, California, not unlike those often produced by chef Kurt Fleischfresser at The Coach House and Will Rogers Theatre over the years.

Jim’s older brother Bill Denevan, a pioneering organic grower in California was one of those farmers that brought his ingredients and his story into the restaurant. From experience working and staying on Bill’s farm as a teen, Jim knew the farm would be an even better venue. And voila, Outstanding in the Field was born on a farm owned by Andrew Griffin, with a dinner prepared by Jim Denevan and chef Tom King.