Giving Back continued

Kitchens are set up on location, and guests hang out with the chefs. The nontraditional dining experience can be uncomfortable for some people at first—but taking them out of their comfort zones is partly the point. “It’s like a culinary ropes course.”

Table for 200? Whether Outstanding in the Field is organ- izing dinner for 200 in a produce distribu- tion warehouse—as it did for the 2009 Foodbuzz Blogger Festivalin San Francisco—or din- ner for 15 in a can- dlelit barn, one thing never changes: Everybody eats at the same table, which is arranged in a long, straight line, a spiral, or some other con- necting shape. It’s partly because

DINING OUT: Outstandingin the Field has set tables in pas- toral farm fields in Caledonia, Ill., top left, and Pemberton, British Columbia, top right. At right, diners gather at City Farm, an organic vegetable farm near downtown Chicago.

ferent context,” Oursler said. “People who have worked together for years might see each other in a different light.”

‘The Energy and Time That It Takes’ Kitchens are setuponlocation, and guests are encouraged to hang out with the chefs as they work. “In most restaurants,”

the Field has done events on aManhattan rooftop, as well as among the statues at a museum in Flo- rence, Italy, where a copy of Michelangelo’s “David” was a centerpiece. But whether the setting is a wheat field, a

warehouse, or amarble-floored museum, Oursler and Denevanconceive theircommunal tables as art pieces. “It’s not about decorating the heck out” of a space, Oursler said, “but rather seeing a location in its natural context and telling its story.” And as stunning as the settings are, they’re

meant to play a supporting role to conversation between guests. “The exciting part is thatwhenwe are setting a table,” Oursler said, “we aren’t telling people what to think, but facilitating a conversation.” The idea is that anOutstanding inthe Fielddin-

ner’s many layers of stimuli will spark different kinds of exchanges than one might have at a typ- ical business dinner. “It starts conversations in a dif-

38 pcma convene December 2010

Oursler said, “there’s a big wall between the kitchen and the dining room.” Likewise, the din- ners break down the walls between guests, farm- ers, and other food producers, andfoster newrela- tionships. In the process, Oursler said, diners “begin to value the energy and time that it takes to bring food to the table.” The nontraditional dining experience can be a

little uncomfortable for some people at first—but taking them out of their comfort zones is partly the point. Oursler said: “It’s like a culinary ropes course.”

Outstanding in the Field has also found creative

ways to use environmental settings that parallel the challenges that clients are facing. For a banking- industry group, Oursler is planning to set the table in an area in Southern California that was burned by wildfires in recent years and is now showing signs of new growth. “The theme,” Oursler said, “ is recovery.”

the company con- ceives of the tables as art objects, said events director Katy Oursler. But it also is in recognition of the power of shared experiences. Outstanding in the Field was ahead of its time, Oursler points out—communal tables are now found at many of the world’s leading restaurants.

Barbara Palmer is a senior editor of Convene.

Giving Back is sponsored by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, www.fairmont.com.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD