HarvesTable features locally grown meal

By ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter


The talents and expertise of chef John Gilbertson, grower Linda Krsnak, baker Joan Williams and producer Jared Hanisch will come together for an event later this month, the first of which they hope to duplicate for years to come.

The four are planning HarvesTable, which will be held at Krsnak's home in Chester on July 25.

"It's the first time we're trying it," Williams said. "Myself and Linda are pooling our resources."

The four have come together to bring to South Dakota an event that is gaining popularity across the nation.

Krsnak said the idea came from a website called Outstanding in the Field. Organizers set up a tour of meals that take place all over the U.S. This year's North American tour started with several stops in California. The tour goes throughout the U.S. with stops as close as Jackson Hole, Wyo., Waukee, Iowa, and Glencoe, Minn. Each event features an outdoor, sit-down meal with prices set at $200 per person.

The local HarvesTable event features a six-course meal prepared by Gilbertson for $45 per plate. An example of what can be expected on the menu: Walleye spring rolls, wood-fired pizza, beef roast and rustic rhubarb tartlets.

The wood-fired oven that will be used to prepare the pizza is something Williams recently purchased for her business, Cider Hill Farm Bakery in Arlington.

All of the meat for the meal will be provided by Hanisch Farms near Humboldt. Cattle, sheep and chickens are raised on the farm.

Krsnak said that they can accommodate up to 60 people for the event. Tables will be set up in Krsnak's herb garden, which was the original site for her garden before it outgrew the space.

Now the garden expands into what had been a pasture years before it was purchased by Krsnak. It includes numerous varieties of homegrown produce. She and her husband Jimmy have turned their garden into a business -- Linda's Garden -- which has been in operation for six years.

Krsnak utilizes hoop buildings to get a jump-start on the growing season in the spring. They are also continuously planting. Once a product's growing cycle finishes, she said, they're planting something new in its place.

Krsnak said the long-term goal for HarvesTable is to include one dinner per month during the harvest season.

"Our main goal is to reintroduce people to locally produced products," she said, indicating that as the project moves forward, more market vendors will be able to supply their products for the project.

Tickets for the event are available from Krsnak, Williams or Hanisch at any of the regional farmer's market events, or online at www.harvestable.net. Tickets will be available until July 22.

©Madison Daily Leader 2010