hi I'm Mike and after weeks of work today is our farm-to-table dinner on our
Wyoming Life
today is the day the farm-to-table dinner officially starts this afternoon
at 4 p.m. Aaron and I have been delivering produce and meat from right
here on the ranch to our caterers pizza carrillo for the past few days we have
help coming out to help set up and finish all the little things but first
let's talk about why we put on the farm table dinner for our community and what
it accomplishes over the past few months Aaron and her cohorts in the dare have
been selling tickets and we're proud to say that as of yesterday we're
officially sold out the money raised from this year's event will go directly
to supporting our local farmers markets funding a number of different programs
that are affiliated with them including our share the harvest program where
vendors are paid for leftover produce that gets donated to our local food bank
snap and WIC incentives that match funds that customers spend using those
programs to buy more locally sourced foods we also have a program called the
pop club or the power of produce that provides activities for kids at market
along with loyalty programs like punch cards where customers can earn shopping
bags and all kinds of stuff just for coming to market vendor training to
teach vendors how to safely manage their products for sale cooking demos and a
whole lot more obviously these programs all cost money vendors at market pay a
small fee each week usually about $10 but this event is the one that primarily
funds farmers market for the entire year last year was our inaugural farm
farm-to-table dinner and after putting that one on we saw the community
interest in the farmers market program and decided to keep doing it this year
we made it bigger and better now last year we sold 62 tickets this year we
expanded to over 70 and we added a silent auction and a live band but more
on that stuff later first there's a lot to do today to get
ready for our guests
well you're almost there to me you think counting was a good idea
this takes place in the shop at the ranch and as help starts to arrive the
whole thing takes shape very quickly with the help of about 10 volunteers the
shop becomes a dining room a silent auction table is set up including items
sent to us from subscribers to our longing life like this wonderful silver
nitrate print of paramount ranch in Malibu California where many westerns
and TV shows were filmed also up for bids this year is our very first our
Wyoming life belt buckle offered to the public along with a number of other
items donated by local businesses outside of the shop the caterers arrive
with their wood-fired ovens cooking and preparing each course on-site the band
gets set up and we're ready to go back in the shop the stage and sound system
is all set up and it looks like guests are beginning to arrive the whole point
of the dinner is to give attendees a chance to not only help out their local
farmers market but also take a look at what goes into the farmers market and
most visitors start out with a walking tour of the ranch including Aaron's
Gardens strolling through and getting a chance to see where most of their meal
tonight has come from as folks to wander around the ranch they can look at
gardens tractors vehicles and even hang out with the bottle caps from this year
before heading back into the shop to sit down for the festivities
I'm Erin the menu is at each place setting and each and every course is
detailed by our chef Arianne herself an appetizer a bread with honey and herb
butter and a fresh salad the entree of pork and chokecherry wine and roasted
potatoes honey beets and kale a dessert of a panna cotta Italian pudding with
hot buttered apples throughout the evening folks are invited to take
pictures with our scarecrow slim out at the wagons and Erin and I get a chance
to hang out with some subscribers to our living life that made the trek out to
spend a few hours with us and support local agriculture
Oh
we show our newest episode of our warming life which for me is kind of odd
because I'm not used to viewing with an audience but audience reactions laughing
and gasping and applause is nice to hear and actually quite encouraging before we
know it the night comes to an end and the last guest exits the ranch hopefully
everyone in attendance took a little more away than just a great meal but the
experience of being here on the ranch dining within the atmosphere that
produce the food that graced their plates we can help so that's it another
year down for farm-to-table are you already happy it's done with
it's probably the one event that I look forward to the most of the summer season
but I won't live when the last person leaves it's a huge that it was it's done
it was successful that people enjoyed themselves but I'm always so happy when
it starts when people start showing up and then I'm always so happy when it's
over what was your what was your favorite part I really loved to share
with people the gardens like to have other Erin did hang out at the gardens
for a long time yeah I make sure we can answer as many questions people kind of
want to know the story of how we started going to farmers markets and how the
gardens have evolved they asked a lot of questions about winter growing it's just
really fun to the gardens could be somewhat isolating I sometimes feel like
I'm always just out there by myself doing all this work so it's really nice
to be able to share that with people some of our farmers market customers
that come every week like I've been telling them like Oh lettuce is just a
couple weeks away and Tracy was like now I can see it she was like it's nice to
see the products that she buys every week to actually see how they're being
produced in person right then the best part for me aside from the food because
the food is really but being thank you a big truck but you
know aside from food the the watching of the video is is always surreal for me to
watch an hour whelming like video with people here we're so used you know you
potent you post them online and then you and get the comments but you don't you
don't feel the reaction as you do when people are laughing or clapping or
gasping or whatever they may be doing that really you know you could notice in
the video that I went back and I stand in the back because it's almost
overwhelming to have you know something that you put all that work into and
actually get an audience reaction from it it's so much different than it is
just working on the bedroom getting it done posting it and then kind of
forgetting about it answering comments but you're the by then the videos
already out of my mind and I'm working on the next video for you for farmers
market now her for far me table you're already working on the very next the
next year aren't you already it's already working in your mind we're
already thinking about logistics to 100 or 150 seats and I think there's made
some major changes happening for next year good changes yeah and hopefully
some more incorporation of art Wyoming life into it and you guys as well and
being able to invite more subscribers and do different things here at the
ranch with just subscribers aside from farm-to-table there's some really cool
things even though we're just a day afterwards well two days now that
there's things that are happening that in that two days that's just it's I hope
we don't forget you know because it does tighten it does sneak up on ya so yeah
we got to start playing know yeah exactly so anyway thanks for hanging out
with us I know that the farm-to-table dinner has been work in progress and of
course you I've been there pretty much through all
of it and being able to watch the prep for it now you get the payoff and I
really do appreciate you guys coming along with us for that entire ride you
have anything else you want to add or can I wrap it up all right make sure you
subscribe click that little Bell button so that you don't miss a thing this week
I am actually going to Dallas so our week is kind of screwed up
usually we have our live stream this Thursday that may be changing I'm going
to try to do maybe something from Dallas maybe some live streaming or something
from down there we will have a video coming out on Sunday that's probably
gonna be more than likely about my trip to Dallas because that's all I have time
to film cuz I'm gonna be gone but anyway you know we really do appreciate you
hanging out with us come along with us explore the ranch life escape the
ordinary and we'll be back again to do it soon so until we see you again have a
great week and thanks for joining us in our Wyoming life