Nage restaurant and Nassau Valley Vineyards will host a night celebrating the food grown by local female farmers — and the farmers themselves — at the vineyards in Lewes on Friday, June 7.
The food will be prepared by Nage chef Ted Deptula and paired with wines by Nassau Valley Vineyard. Susan Ryan of Good Earth Market and Organic Farm in Clarksville will be among the farmers recognized, along with other female farmers from Sussex County.
Nage’s Kathy McDonald explained that, each year, at the end of the season, Nage hosts a farmer’s dinner at Fifer Orchards. She said that, this year, they wanted to do something different by kicking off the season with a dinner downstate.
“Peggy [of Nassau valley Vineyards] is great to work with, and we thought Nassau Valley Vineyards would be fun,” she explained. “And it evolved into thinking we could do it highlighting just the female farmers.”
She noted that Nage works throughout the summer with the women being highlighted this coming Friday, and more, as well as men farmers, for their Thursday farm-to-table events, at which they highlight a local farmer each week and expose Nage’s diners to the farmer’s story and the story of the food they grow.
She said she is excited to bring all of the female farmers together to kick off the season.
“I’d like to see these women recognized for their hard work,” said McDonald. “They are the backbones of those farms, and they do it with love and produce really fine products.”
She said the event didn’t start out being a dinner to highlight female farmers but that it just evolved into that because of the sheer numbers of female farmers with whom they work. She said it was mostly influenced by one farmer, Barbara Russell, who is owner and operator of Bob Russell Farms in Milford, which is in its 24th year of supplying specialty vegetables, herbs and edible flowers to resort-area restaurants.
“She is my first thought when I think of women farmers,” said McDonald.
In addition to Ryan and Russell, the farmers to be honored include Peggy Raley, owner and operator of Nassau Valley Vineyards in Lewes. Founded in 1987, the vineyards were the first commercial wine vineyards to exist in the Delaware. Other farmers to be honored include Booby Jo Colvine, owner of Colvine Buffalo Farm in Greenwood, and Karen Reid, owner/operator of Reid Family Farms in Lewes.
Deptula’s menu for the evening will consist of Peanut Crusted Bison Satay, Minted Pea Soup Shooter, Curried Crab Cornet, Tuna Carpaccio, spring carrots, baby mushrooms, snow peas, radish, Firefly Farms Goat Cheese Tart, salad of Karen Reid leafy greens, feathery herbs, edible flowers, Bobby Jo Colvine Buffalo Flat Iron Steak, smothered greens, cornbread panzanella and Nassau Blueberry Wine Sorbet, white chocolate custard and almond cake.
The dinner starts at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 7. Guests will be situated in the rustic Wine Gallery of Nassau Valley Vineyards and hosted by Peggy Raley and Kathy McDonald. Tickets cost $111 and include dinner and gratuity, as well as a chance to meet the farmers.
To purchase tickets, go to nagerb.com.