Our second annual Boucherie at Vintage Heart Farms was a huge success. From the rustic farm décor to the amazing food- it was a day to remember!
We started work the day before with the task of transporting and building an outdoor kitchen at Vintage Heart Farm. The main focus of this event is for the chefs to cook the entire pig using all outdoor cooking techniques. It is as much of a learning experience for some of the chefs as it is for the guests. An oven was built out of cinderblocks, used pallets, and tin roofing (which baked some of the best bread pudding we have ever had!). The chefs continued to work (and drink) throughout the night to prepare for Sunday’s dinner.
At 5:00am Sunday morning the two pigs were slaughtered and broken down into parts that were then distributed to the awaiting chefs to begin work preparing their dishes. This was probably the most intense part of the day because the chefs had very little sleep and only had a few hours to have brunch on the table at 11:00am and they also needed to get the food started for the supper at 3:00pm.
Guests started arriving around 11:00am and were encouraged to grab a Mezcalmary and mingle with the chefs. It was a chance for them to not only see food being cooked in a way very different from a restaurant setting, but also to interact with the chefs while they were working. Guests saw demonstrations of red and white boudin being made as well as sauce picante, dirty rice, and antecuchos among other things. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with a beautiful setting. Many of our guests sat under the majestic live oak tree in the center of the property and just enjoyed being outside on such a picturesque day.
Prior to dinner being served, Ashley and Roger Flores of Vintage Heart Farm talked about the history of their farm. Literally everything on the farm was built by them- from the house, to the barn, to the cute pie food truck. While they were talking, the chefs began putting out numerous dishes that had been cooking all day. By the time the guests got to the table there was very little room because every single surface was covered in some kind of delicious pork dish. By the time we got to dessert we thought everyone would be stuffed so we handed out disposable bowls and forks for guests to take their dessert to go. We had bread pudding (made by John Russ of Luke) and cherry pie (made by Ashley of Vintage Heart Farm) and somehow everyone was able to rally and eat every single bite of dessert that was put on the table and the to-go packaging wasn’t even needed!
This was such a perfect end to an amazing day. We are really looking forward to our boucherie next year, so stay tuned for more information!
Here are some pictures of the event. For additional photos, visit our Facebook page.