Check out the article here.

A couple of questions developed in my mind as I read this. Does this event lead to a more direct connection to the food or is it a piece of dinner theatre with the field playing the lead roll? Or both? Is this a case of truth in fiction?

On the one side, I can see that this event introduces the audience to an encounter with their food that is informative, tasty and “novel”.  On the other side, does paying big bucks to eat at the source really achieve a direct connection to the food – or does it import a fine-dining restaurant aesthetic and politic into the field?

As an urbanite, I think that its possible to achieve a better relationship with food by buying from farmers at the market, participating in a CSA vegetable or meat share, and learning about ways to prepare these foods. This is to say that I think that a good connection to food is about competency to procure, handle and prepare the food.

I’m quite sure the fine-dining-in-a-field was excellent, fun and memorable. I am suspicious of the idea that physical proximity, in the case of the fine-dining-in-a-field, equals a more direct connection to the food. I do, however, think that it has potential value as a piece of theatre that might inspire further investigation of and engagement with food.