Outstanding in the Field, a touring outdoor dinner series that has hosted meals on farms and other working landscapes since 1999, will hold its next event at Oriana’s Orchard in Winslow, Illinois, on August 1. Chicago chefs César Murillo of Michelin-starred North Pond and Devon Quinn of Eden will lead the kitchen for the evening.
Artist and chef Jim Denevan started the series in 1999, and its format has remained largely the same since then, a single long table set up at the source, be it a farm, an orchard, a vineyard or a stretch of coastline. Each of the dinners will include a menu based on what that specific site produces, with guests eating alongside the farmers and makers behind the food.
The star of the dinner is Oriana Kruszewski, the farmer who manages the orchard. She has been cultivating organic fruit in Illinois for nearly 50 years despite the difficult climate that has made organic farming very challenging. A number of small organic orchards in Illinois have closed over the decades, but Kruszewski’s orchid is still operational. She is known among growers in the region as “the pear whisperer.” The orchard grows Asian pears, black currants and rare pawpaws, all of which will be part of the menu that evening.
The connection between Chefs Murillo and Quinn with Kruszewski was one of the reasons why they were invited to participate in the dinner. Chef Murillo has recently been in contact with Kruszewski to assist her with transporting her trees to North Pond, while Chef Quinn has been using the produce from the orchard for years at his restaurant Eden.
Wine for the dinner will be served by Chris and Sarah Pittenger of Gros Ventre Cellars. The dinner runs from 4 to 8:30 p.m. at Oriana’s Orchard in Winslow, Illinois. Tickets are priced at $390 per person and are available on the brand’s official website.
