Farm to Table

A Farm-Fresh Feast

Hernando Chamber of Commerce’s Farm-to-Table event brings locally grown food and neighborhood chefs together for an evening of fine dining

Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce’s newest annual event, the Farm-to-Table Dinner, brings local farmers and chefs together with a goal of using as many locally sourced food items to create tantalizing dishes.

“The main idea behind the event is to gather donated produce from our friends at the Hernando Farmers Market and offer it up to our local chefs, who then put together a dish based on what they were provided,” said Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sibonie Swatzyna.

Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce hosted the first-ever Farm-to-Table Dinner in May of 2018, while the most recent dinner was hosted in August of 2019. Both of these events were held at Cedar Hill Farm and drew close to 80 attendees. Proceeds from the Farm-to-Table Dinner raise money for the Façade Grant, a $1,500 grant which benefits a local business nominated by the Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re working on building this event and it’s getting better every year,” Swatzyna said. “Because the event was so well received, we decided to do it again in 2019 and going forward. Gia Matheny, who oversees the Hernando Farmers Market, has done a fantastic job helping with the volunteer efforts for this event.”

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50 Hernando Featured chefs in last year’s threecourse Farm-to-Table Dinner included Executive Chef Christian Carmichael of AC’s Steakhouse; Chef John Woods of First Choice Catering; Janice Nelson, general manager of Windy City Grille; and Kim Daly, owner of City Hall Cheesecake. Walker, Brown & Brown, P.A. was the recipient of the 2019 Farm-to-Table Façade Grant.

Guests for the 2018 Farm-toTable Dinner were treated to four courses prepared by Chefs Scott and Nikki Miller of Scotty’s SmokeHouse; Scott Donnelly of AC’s Steakhouse; Heather Ries and Valerie Hawkes of Ladybugg Bakery; and Josh Belenchia of Buon Cibo. City Hall Cheesecake was the recipient of the 2018 Farm-to-Table Façade Grant.

“It’s a wonderful concept,” said Woods. “I’m always willing to support anything like this in our community. I was a small part of the puzzle for 2019, but I’ve volunteered to be the go-to guy for the 2020 Farm-to-Table Dinner.”

Woods, along with three other participating chefs at this past year’s event, were tasked with creating flavorful and creative dishes centered around unexpected combinations of texture and color.

“My assignment for the most recent Farm-to-Table Dinner was to prepare the salad, which wasn’t too complicated,” Woods said. “It was a grilled peach salad with curry toasted pecans and honey, topped with a balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese. It got a lot of good compliments and I feel like it was a great hit.”

Woods gave credit to the Hernando Farmers Market for providing the bountiful variety behind his wellreceived dish.

“We have a lot of good folks down there who show up every week with fresh meat and veggies and other good products, it’s a great asset for a project like this.” Woods said.

Hernando Community Development Director and Farm-toTable Dinner volunteer Gia Matheny acknowledged the importance of a thriving local farmers market and active relationships with vendors in planning the event.

“It’s a great event that raises a little awareness for the Hernando Farmers Market, which has grown so much over the years,” Matheny said. “In the last six years, the amount of participating vendors has grown by nearly double what it was. Our main focus is locally produced agriculture product, and that’s a necessity for a community like Hernando.”

For more information on upcoming farm-to-table festivities, visit the Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce website at hernandoms.org.