We love New York City, we really do, but when it’s a scorching week like this one, we dream of much milder, greener pastures. And if you, too, want to escape the city this season, we’ve got good news: one of NYC’s most high-profile chefs is heading upstate next month for a cool dinner series.
Just 90 minutes from the city, Wildflower Farms—a country-chic Auberge Resorts Collection property in Gardiner, New York—has brought back its Maple Lane Chef Series for the summer, featuring “a lineup of visiting chefs renowned for their innovative and seasonal cuisine.” This season has already seen the likes of The Modestos, those Catskills-based masters of Argentine grilling, hold open-fire cooking workshops for guests. And next month will see NYC’s own Chef Flynn McGarry host a family-style dinner party centered on the season’s bounty.
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New Yorkers, of course, know McGarry as the food-world wunderkind who worked in Michelin-starred kitchens like Eleven Madison Park and Chicago’s Alinea, had an entire biographical documentary based on him premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and opened his first NYC restaurant, the prix-fixe spot Gem, all before leaving his teen years. (Yes, we, too, feel inadequate.)
Now a culinary veteran at, uh, 25 years old, McGarry will head upstate on Sunday, July 28th for the chef series. First, in the afternoon from 3pm to 4:30pm, you can join the toque for an intimate, roving workshop ($165 per person) that takes you through the property’s garden to master the art of setting the table. You’ll pick fresh flowers and seasonal produce as you stroll on the farm and then, over cocktails, Flynn will share his secrets for artfully transforming that collected produce and flowers into the perfect ambiance for the evening’s dinner party.
Then, at 6:30pm, you’ll sit down for a dreamy dinner yourself, with a family-style spread celebrating vegetables from the idyllic farm as well as locally sourced proteins. The outdoor summer feast (priced at $295 per person) will be paired with summertime cocktails from Great Jones Distilling Co., made to complement the vibrant flavors of each dinner, as well as wines from Provence’s Domaines Ott.
You can reserve your spot for both McGarry’s workshop as well as the Maple Lane Chef Series dinner on the Wildflower Farms website.
