Amy Gorman (center), of Camano Island, laughs as Tino Senon (right) tells a story during the June 11 dinner at Kristoferson Farm on Camano Island. The five-course dinners feature food paired with wines from a visiting vineyard. (Ian Terry / The Herald)

Amy Gorman (center), of Camano Island, laughs as Tino Senon (right) tells a story during the June 11 dinner at Kristoferson Farm on Camano Island. The five-course dinners feature food paired with wines from a visiting vineyard. (Ian Terry / The Herald)

Camano Island barn dinners showcase local food

CAMANO ISLAND — Our region now offers yet another delightful dining experience for exuberant gourmands.

The Kristoferson Farm on East Camano Drive is hosting a series of summer dinners in the family’s hay barn.

These three-hour meals include wine pairings with each of the five courses, which are made from ingredients produced by local farmers and prepared by local chefs. And it’s all accompanied by a running educational dialog about the food and the wine.

Sit family style at a long table, get to know the people at your elbows and enjoy a wide range of gourmet tastes.

The Kristoferson family established a picturesque 134-acre dairy farm on Camano Island more than 100 years ago. The farm still grows hay, and more recently started growing a culinary grade of lavender. Five years ago, the family established a zip-line recreation business, Canopy Tours Northwest, in the 100-acre woods above the hay and lavender fields.

And now the Kristofersons are hosting the dinners and using their home-grown lavender in the meals.

“The dinners are another way to share the farm and keep the property from being developed,” said Kris Kristoferson, the great-grandson of Swedish pioneer Albert Kristoferson.

“When I was a kid, I had a friend who liked to eat over at our house because we had what he called ‘old-fashioned’ dinners,” Kristoferson said. “Family suppers are what I grew up with and that’s the feeling we have with our dinners in the barn.”

On a recent evening, two long tables in the rustic barn were decorated with pink flowers and candles. The rosé wine, which matched the flowers, already had been poured.

Guests mingled while trying hors d’oeuvres that included crab-stuffed mushrooms, honey-roasted beet stacks and shrimp in lettuce cups, all prepared by chef Donna King’s crew from the Cama Beach Cafe. David Volmut of Wind Rose Cellars of Sequim poured a 2015 Pinot Grigio for all.

The rosé wine (Rosato 2015) on the table was paired with a creamy morel mushroom bisque, which was followed by an organic field greens salad with roasted radish panzanella (bread and tomatoes) paired with the winery’s Bell Bottom White.

For the main dish, people chose from a luscious-looking plate of sous vide (steamed) lingcod, leg of lamb or a spring vegetable timbale (layered and molded). The wine for this course was Wind Rose Cellars’ 2012 Bravo Rosso red wine.

A 2013 Dolcetto accompanied the dessert of quinoa shortcake with strawberries and sweet lavender cream.

Suppliers included Ananda Yoga (meaning “joy and oneness”) Farm, Island Harvest Farm and Wildpatch Bread, all located on Camano Island

At this particular dinner, 42 people sat at the tables, including Kristoferson and two of his four sisters, Nancy O’Neal and Melissa Elliott.

Also at the table were Tino and Terry Senon, who live on Camano Island and had dined at the Kristofersons’ twice before.

“Kris and his family are so nice,” Terry Senon said. “We love the creative food, we like hearing from the local farmers and we enjoy meeting the vintners.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.

If you go

Kristoferson Farm Dinners

6 to 9 p.m. July 9, Aug. 13, Sept. 17

332 N. East Camano Dr., Camano Island

Cost is $105 each

To make a reservation, go to http://bit.ly/28NNHnu or call 360-387-5807.

Kristoferson Family Farm

From lumber milled on site in 1912, the Kristofersons built hay and dairy barns, which today are listed on the state’s Heritage Barn Register, managed by the Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation. Hay and lavender are harvested each year. Along with Canopy Tours, the family forest is managed for a small harvest every 10 years under a stewardship plan developed with the help of Washington State University Extension. The farm was named the Washington State Wildlife Farm of the Year in 2014.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Graphite Arts Center
Amelia DiGiano’s photography is part of the “Seeing Our Planet” exhibit, which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 9 at the Graphite Arts Center in Edmonds.
A&E Calendar for July 10

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members Doug Symonds and Alysia Obina on Monday, March 3, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How to grow for show: 10 tips for prize-winning dahlias

Snohomish County Dahlia Society members share how they tend to their gardens for the best blooms.

What’s Up columnist Andrea Brown with a selection of black and white glossy promotional photos on Wednesday, June 18, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Free celeb photos! Dig into The Herald’s Hollywood time capsule

John Wayne, Travolta, Golden Girls and hundreds more B&W glossies are up for grabs at August pop-up.

The 2025 Audi A3 premium compact sedan (Provided by Audi).
2025 Audi A3 upgradesdesign and performance

The premium compact sedan looks sportier, acts that way, too.

Edmonds announces summer concert lineup

The Edmonds Arts Commission is hosting 20 shows from July 8 to Aug. 24, featuring a range of music styles from across the Puget Sound region.

Big Bend Photo Provided By Ford Media
2025 Ford Bronco Sport Big Bend Increases Off-Road Capability

Mountain Loop Highway Was No Match For Bronco

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Mustang Convertible Photo Provided By Ford Media Center
Ford’s 2024 Ford Mustang Convertible Revives The Past

Iconic Sports Car Re-Introduced To Wow Masses

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

The 2025 Nissan Murano midsize SUV has two rows of seats and a five-passenger capacity. (Photo provided by Nissan)
2025 Nissan Murano is a whole new machine

A total redesign introduces the fourth generation of this elegant midsize SUV.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

Logo for news use featuring Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Snohomish County will host climate resiliency open house on July 30

Community members are encouraged to provide input for the county’s developing Communitywide Climate Resiliency Plan.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.