CAMANO ISLAND — The Kristoferson Farm released the dates of its summer Farm to Table dinner series earlier this week, and it’s not too early to make a reservation. These six supper events have a tendency to sell out.
This is the third year the Kristoferson family has invited folks out to the farm’s century old hay barn to eat.
Sounds rustic, right? Actually, it’s pretty elegant.
The three-hour evening meals include wine pairings with each of the five courses. The food is made from ingredients produced by local and regional farmers, ranchers and fishers, and then prepared by chefs Donna King and Jeremiah Leighton of Cama Beach Cafe.
Two long cloth-covered tables, decorated with flowers and candles, seat about 22 people each. The meal includes a running educational dialog about the food and the wine. Winemakers are part of discussion, as are farmers and cooks.
Mona Kristoferson Campbell said she and her siblings have enjoyed hosting the Farm to Table dinners.
“We have this delightful building, a clear-fir barn that has been the hub of our family farm since 1914,” Campbell said. “It’s fun to share it, and it offers a different aspect of the farm.”
Campbell’s great grandfather Albert Kristoferson, a Swedish pioneer, built the barn from lumber milled on site more than 100 years ago when he established the picturesque 134-acre dairy farm on Camano Island. The barn is on the state’s Heritage Barn Register, which is managed by the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
The farm still produces hay, and now also grows culinary lavender and apples. Six years ago, the family established a zip-line recreation business, Canopy Tours Northwest, in the 100-acre woods above the hay fields. The family forest is managed for periodic harvest under a stewardship plan developed with the help of Washington State University Extension.
“At our first dinner of the season on May 20, we want people to savor wines crafted by Armstrong Family Winery selected to enhance each course,” Campbell said. “The Armstrongs will share their story of crafting wine in Woodinville and will talk about the characteristics of the wines on the menu.”
In October, the wine will come from Dundee, Oregon, where Knudsen Vineyards is known for its pinot noir, she said.
The meal’s chefs, King and Leighton, are culinary artists, Campbell said. “Donna lives on the island and she is a treasure. The food is sourced locally and she is always embracing new things. We value her creativity.”
The menus are not established yet, because King will be working with what is ripe and ready in time for each dinner. Rachel Pigott, who lives up the road from the farm, provides much of the produce from her Island Harvest Farm.
People arrive for dinner at 6 p.m. and mingle while enjoying an appetizer and wine.
The remaining courses — soup, salad, entree and dessert and the wine pairings — are served at the table.
“We have especially enjoyed the social part of the dinners,” Campbell said.
Farm to Table Dinners at Kristoferson Farm
May 20, June 17, July 22, Aug. 26, Sept. 23 and Oct. 21 at 332 N. East Camano Drive, Camano Island.
The first three dinners are priced at $105 each. For tickets, go to www.facebook.com/pg/KristofersonFarm/events.
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