Let’s get into the meat of it—pun gloriously intended. Eating on a farm isn’t just about securing the freshest ingredients, although tasting a tomato that’s spent more time basking in the sun than in a truck is one of life’s underrated joys. It’s about bridging the gap between your plate and the soil, and fostering a connection to our food’s roots—literally and figuratively.
It’s a chance to shake hands with the unsung heroes of our kitchens—the farmers. These custodians of the land who orchestrate a harmony of nature to deliver the flavors that we so often take for granted. It’s also an opportunity to toast to our community’s resilience, to the shared love for great food, and the collective respect for the land.
This summer, the local dining scene is moving outdoors, and trust us—it’s a gustatory adventure you don’t want to miss. Welcome to the table, Denver. This is going to be outstanding in the field.
Outstanding in the Field
Outstanding in the Field
Established in 1999 by Jim Denevan, Outstanding in the Field is not so much a dinner series as it is an edible rebellion against conventional dining. It’s a roving restaurant with no walls, no confines, just a long table under the sky, a tribute to the very land that provides our sustenance.
The tour returns to Colorado this year for three nights of fine feasts prepared by some of the region’s most lauded chefs—which helps explain the lofty price tag of $375 per seat. But ask anyone who’s snagged a seat at one of these epic tables when the tour came through Colorado in the past, and they’ll tell you it’s worth the splurge.
July 19: Lowry Ranch
Host Rancher: Nick Trainor, Trainor Cattle Co.
Hosts: Grazers of The Colorado State Land Board
Guests Chefs: Kelly Whitaker & Taylor Stark, The Wolf’s Tailor
July 22: Ranchlands at Chico Basin
Host Ranchers: Tess Leach & Duke Phillips, Ranchlands
Guest Chefs: Ian Dedrickson & Nora Dillon, Ephemera
July 23: Ranchlands at Chico Basin
Host Ranchers: Tess Leach & Duke Phillips, Ranchlands
Guest Chef: Michael Diaz de Leon, BRUTØ
Lone Hawk Farm’s Celebrate Summer Farm Dinner
Find the 120-acre definition of hidden gem a mere stone’s throw—or an enthusiastic corn toss—from Boulder. Welcome to Lone Hawk Farm, where organic gardens rub shoulders with vineyards, farm animals casually photobomb your Instagram feed, and the Front Range flaunts itself from every angle. On June 28, the artisan caterers at Forage Sisters are preparing a coursed farm-to-table meal using local, seasonal fare. Rumor has it, they’re planning to serve summer on a plate. Tickets are $130, and wine is included.
Lone Hawk Farm
10790 N 49th St., Longmont
The Farmer & Adele’s Midsummer Farm Dinner
A picture-perfect scene: An 18-acre farm against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains, a dinner table groaning under the weight of farm-fresh produce, artisan bread, and local craft beverages. A four-course, family-style meal with live music in the air and a motley crew of animals roaming around. The Farmer & Adele farm dinners aren’t just dinners—they’re celebrations of food, music, views, and great company. The menu changes with the seasons, always fresh and local, with produce sourced from Farmer, Adele, and other local farmers.
June 24: Chef Annie DeCoteau of RISE Artisan Bakery
Tickets, $95–$120, via Eventbrite.
The Farmer and Adele
19417 CR 3, Berthoudfarmerandadele.com
Meadow Lark Farm Dinners
This isn’t your average farm-to-table. This is farm as table. From June to September, Meadow Lark hosts a dinner series that transforms area farm fields into harvest runways. Tables, set up between rows of vegetables or in fields of growing greens, welcome an improvisational feast of the day’s pickings—a testament to the brief, yet bountiful, growing season. A cool $180 secures your seat, sans wine. Sure, it might be a bit steeper than your local bistro, but remember, the team hauls an entire kitchen to the fields and then clears it all post-dinner.
Reservations are as coveted as a golden ticket—snatched up via an online lottery. And as for the menu? It’s a delicious surprise every time.
June 10: MASA Seed Foundation
June 24: Speedwell Farm and Gardens
July 1: Esotrra Culinary Garden
July 8: Cure Organic Farm
July 15: Lyons Farmette
July 22: TBD
July 29: Esoterra Culinary Garden
Aug. 5: Cure Organic Farm
Aug. 12: Esoterra Culinary Garden
Aug. 19: Toohey & Sons Organic
Aug. 26: Toohey & Sons Organic
Sept. 9: Treehouse Collective
Sept. 16: Aspen Moon Farm
Sept. 23: MASA Seed Foundation
Meadow Lark Farm Dinners
Boulder
farmdinners.com
@meadowlarkfarmdinners
Lyons Farmette Farm Dinner Series
In the heart of Colorado’s farmland, the Lyons Farmette Farm Dinner Series transforms summer evenings into a veritable tableau of community, cuisine, and stars above. Wednesday nights (and one Tuesday) from July 12 to October 4 become the intersection of farm-fresh food, creativity, and shared experiences at the organic farm and education center. At these dinners, you’re not just a guest but an active participant in a rich narrative of food, people, and place.
What’s more, every dinner contributes to a wider cause, supporting different community organizations through wine and beer sales. Drink up to extend your reach beyond your plate and fuel a thriving local ecosystem.
The dinner series boasts an impressive lineup, and if you want to attend one, now’s the time to secure your seat. The kickoff dinner with GB Culinary Farm on July 12 is already sold out, as are Blackbelly’s Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s dinners on July 26 and Sept. 6; and Chef Daniel Asher’s Locavore Farm Dinner on Aug. 30. But seats are still available for these (as of press time):
July 19: Rosetta Hall Chefs
Aug. 9: Jacaranda Farm Dinner
Aug. 16: Forage Sisters
Aug. 23: Mountain Crust Pizza
Sept. 13: Whistling Boar Farm Dinner
Sept. 20: Butcher & The Blonde
Sept. 26: Marigold
Oct. 4: Green Points Farm
Lyons Farmette
4121 Ute Hwy, Lyons
Ollin Farms 2023 Summer Farm Dinner Series
Set the GPS to Ollin Farms this summer and brace yourself for an uproar of flavor that’ll make your taste buds pen love letters to local produce. This is farm-to-table, minus the cliché, and a cottonwood backdrop by Left Hand Creek that screams to be Instagrammed. The community’s the keyword here, with dinner tables seating 16-plus, turning into social petri dishes ripe with conversation, laughter, and a shared adoration for the noble carrot. It’s local chefs showcasing their culinary wizardry with whatever Ollin Farms plucks out of the ground that week.
Upcoming chefs include Whistling Boar, who we’re hoping will actually bring a boar that whistles, and The Magic Food Bus, presumably less psychedelic than it sounds, plus Roots and La Vita Bella. At $90 a pop, it’s the best deal in town to guarantee farm-fresh food, top-tier chefs, a flurry of new friends, and an evening that might redefine your understanding of“
July 29: Whistling Boar
Aug. 19: The Magic Food Bus
Sept. 16th: Roots
Oct. 7: La Vita Bella
Oct. 14: The Magic Food Bus
Ollin Farm Dinner
8627 North 95th St., Longmont
ollinfarms.com
@ollinsfarms_
