This week we showcase two more “Quest to Re-Invest” winners. The first winner Fallfest was held last week on the 8th to celebrate the preserving of Dimond Hill Farm for future generations. The second and one of my favorite things to do, eat great food, is on the agenda for this weekend. The Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner in Stratham is a must do event if you enjoy great local food in different environment. Check it out if you have the date open and we may see you there!

Fallfest was a huge success!

Five Rivers Conservation Trust and friends celebrated more than 20 years conserving special open space lands in New Hampshire’s Capital Region! 

The $50 donation to their great cause will earned you:

* an unforgettable evening with a gorgeous view from Dimond Hill Farm, a property we preserved. 

* an all-local gourmet dinner 

* beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages

* bluegrass music and dancing with the GrassDawgs

* silent and live auctions featuring fantastic NH goods and services

* the best views in town!

* and, of course, the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ve done your part to keep this part of New Hampshire so beautiful and special

Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner in Stratham

The Heirloom Harvest Project, in collaboration with Seacoast Eat Local and Slow Food Seacoast, has announced its third annual Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner. It will be held (rain or shine) on Sunday, Sept. 18, at Meadow’s Mirth / Berry Hill Farm in Stratham.

Beverages and passed hors d’oeuvres will be served from 4–5 p.m. and white tablecloth dinner in the barn will begin promptly at 5 p.m. The cost is $110 per person.

This year, the five-course meal will highlight not only local heirloom vegetables, but also heritage breed animals, all raised by local farmers and growers. The grand historic barn at Berry Hill and Meadow’s Mirth Farms in Stratham will again host this event.

Its goal is to raise funds for local food-based community organizations while generating awareness of sustainable food and farming, agricultural biodiversity, and the community’s extraordinary collaboration of farmers and chefs. Ten of the area’s most celebrated chefs will collaborate on a menu that will be served by a volunteer crew of community members.

Led by Chef Evan Mallett of the Black Trumpet Bistro, ten chefs will prepare elegant dishes highlighting heirloom vegetables grown by local farmers. Locally produced beverages and live music from Mary Dellea will emanate from the hayloft. Organizers say the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner is always a night to remember. Farmers, chefs and community volunteers will be in attendance and honored at the event.

In addition, Slow Food Seacoast will be distributing free heirloom seeds of the produce featured at the dinner, as well as teaching about how to save your own seeds in the future. Knowing that genetic diversity begins with open pollinated heirloom plants and rare breeds livestock, this dinner highlights the Slow Food philosophy which suggests that if you value the preservation of these historically significant varieties, “…the best thing you can do is eat them!”

Chef Mallett says that, in 2009, he was “not alone in being a chef who had a vision to host a dinner in a barn, but my desire to do something like this didn’t have a cause linked to it.” That was until Evan participated in Slow Food’s Ark of Taste–a celebration of heritage and heirloom varieties that are considered to be at risk or endangered. Now inspired by the plight of heirloom vegetables, Mallett has become engaged with organizations that are striving to preserve and protect this tradition.

Josh and Jean Jennings of Meadow’s Mirth were extremely receptive to having the event held at their barn. The final piece of finding chefs who also supported the cause easily fell into place. “The deep-rooted collaboration of chefs and farmers will sustain this idea well into the future,” says Mallett. In recent months, this event has led to the development of the Heirloom Harvest Project, a network that will continue to build these connections between farmers, chefs and community year-round.

The event would not be possible without the support of many businesses from the community, including Dole & Bailey, Exeter Events and Tents, Farnum Hill Cider, General Linens, Maine Shellfish Co., M.S. Walker, Salmon Falls Winery, Smuttynose Brewery, Throwback Brewery, and Vermont Butter & Cheese.

Tickets for this event have sold out in record time this year, and participating organizations are grateful for the community’s overwhelming response. If interested in supporting the Heirloom Harvest Barn Dinner as a volunteer, please contact Briana Cribeyer, event coordinator, at briana.cribeyer@gmail.com.

For more information: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heirloom-Harvest-Project/150781324991804