What is a Farms, Food, & Friends Dinner?
Our Farms, Food, & Friends (FFF) Dinners are the farm to table dinners that we hold four times a year. We feature our county's freshest produce, proteins, and other ingredients from our local farmers that are crafted into amazing meals at the hands of our local chefs. These dinners are hosted at different venues around Carteret County so that you can savor the alfresco experience, meet and ask questions of our local farmers, and speak with our chefs. You might be surprised at the variety of items available locally!
Why does Carteret Local Food Network host these dinners?
Our biggest goal is to connect Carteret County consumers with their local farmers. We try to promote our farmers as much as possible and offering an environment where someone can see, taste, smell, hear and touch where their food comes from makes all the difference. We hope that when you taste the difference, you will continue to choose to shop locally as much as possible. As you discover new tastes, recipes, and identify the issues that surround our local food scene, you will realize the importance of supporting our farmers with our purchasing dollars. (We also enjoy the opportunity to eat delicious food with like-minded individuals at amazing locations!)
Where can I get tickets to these events?
We're so glad you asked! Tickets can be purchased here. It's also a great way to get additional information about each dinner and stay up-to-date in case of venue or inclement weather changes.
2019 Farms, Food, and Friends Supper Club dates
May 5 – A really great evening at Garner Farms enjoying Cinco de Mayo with new tomatoes and lettuces from Garner Farms, fresh herbs from LongLeaf Farm and microgreens from Harlowe Custom Microgreens, Sherri Garners’ famous Jalapeno Popper Dip and chips from Mamacita’s, fresh ceviche from TarHeel BoatWorks, fresh grouper from Cap’n Oliver, homemade tortillas from Chef Claire, strawberry dessert from Garner Farms, and beautiful cut flowers by Sharon Garner, thank you all! It doesn’t get much better than this!
June 30 – Hosted at Two Bees Farm by Tanya and Travis Watson, Chef Caroline Dominguez dazzled us with juicy pork chops from Shoe Branch Farm rubbed with coffee from Crystal Coast Coffee Roasters, greens from The Farm at Bogue, corn from Garner Farms and Willis Farm, roasted veggies from Merrell Farm, and a lip-smacking peach galette from Two Bees Farm, the Steadham Homestead, and the Caldwell Homestead.
August 18 – We visited Ocean Natural Farm under Michael Murdoch and Deede Miller’s care, 341 J Bell Lane, Newport/Ocean. Chef Kenny Collins of TLC Catering (formerly of The Boathouse) prepared the plump juicy chickens from Shenk Family Farm that were raised by Joe and Rachel Shenk. We sourced the accompanying potatoes, greens, squashes, figs, blackberries, okra, eggplant, and delicious other items in season to create your Sunday evening event. Yes, it was hot! But we were in the shade of a lovely hand-hewn barn with solar-fencing and irrigation. Next door is last year’s host community farm, Earthwise Farm of NC Coastal Federation.
October 27 - Dinner started earlier at 5:00 PM (daylight savings time) – Chef Charles Park of Beaufort Grocery and Chef Caroline Dominguez of 34 N Restaurant inside the beautiful Beaufort Hotel brought their A-game to The Barnyard to prepare rabbits! A hands-on lesson from farmers Kim and Russ Nead and a treat for us paired with some of the best and freshest veggies from the fall gardens, YUM!! The persimmon bread pudding was delightful, especially with a side of mascarpone cheese and honey almond ice cream from Simply Natural Farm purchased through Island Produce.
