A Movable Feast

Experiential Dining Changes with the Setting

Guests at Swallowtail Farm get a tour of the grounds by farmer Noah Shitama before dinner. Photo by Dave Miller.

Given the growth of the hospitality industry over the past 50 years, eating out has become commonplace for many of us. The process of going to a restaurant – choosing a dish or drink from the menu, being served by wait staff, paying the check – is generally the same wherever you are dining. (Fast-casual concepts offer a modified different model, with ordering and sometimes picking up food at a counter by the customer.)

Sometimes, though, diners want more than great food, great service and appealing ambiance. Yes, those elements are important, but some of us seek new gastronomic adventures as an alternative to the traditional setting. Whether it’s a one-time menu, movable location or chef collaborations, these types of meals are unique and memorable because they depart from a typical restaurant visit. They set the stage, and the table, for experiential culinary outings.

A variety of pop-up dining concepts have become more familiar to diners over the past 10 years. Whether it’s a not-yet-open restaurant building a fan base, a chef experimenting for one night only or meals in an unusual setting, these limited experiences have grown in popularity with adventurous diners. Because of the fleeting nature of the event, social media is used to promote reservations and ticket sales. Once word gets out, however, especially if the chef has a following, seats fill quickly. Just ask Barry Honan, chef-owner of Lotus Noodle Bar in St. Augustine. He recently organized a dinner featuring five well-known local chefs for the Friends of James Beard Benefit series and all 150 seats sold out in about two hours.

“Collaborating with the James Beard Foundation was a fantastic opportunity to elevate St. Augustine's gastronomic scene. It allowed us to showcase the Foundation's emphasis on community engagement and promoting creativity, while celebrating the city's unique history,” says Honan. Even though the organization is a powerhouse in the culinary world, he was surprised yet pleased by how quickly tickets sold out. “If you are a passionate food lover, the opportunity to engage in such a significant event is an occasion you wouldn't want to miss,” says Honan. “To me, the moment is akin to discovering that your favorite band is performing nearby. Anticipation builds, and the urgency to secure your tickets is undeniable. And let's not forget, it was a hell of a lineup!” In addition to Honan, featured chefs included Genie McNally, Matthew Brown, Marcel Vizcarra and Joshua Smith.

Chef collaborations have become a one-stop opportunity to sample a mash-up of cuisines and techniques. Mesa, an Indian restaurant in the Avondale neighborhood of Jacksonville, partners with guest chefs throughout the year in what they call Mesa Food Lab. “We explore a variety of cuisines in our multi-course tasting menus and beverage pairings,” says Saji George, Mesa’s owner. “It gives us a chance to showcase traditional flavors in dishes with a twist.” Mesa Lab has hosted a tacomakase, (a crafted taco tasting menu), and featured Vietnamese, Levantine, Italian and farm-to-table menus, with others in the works.

When dining in a non-traditional location, the setting itself becomes a part of the experience and creates a sense of novelty and exclusivity. The dinner benefitting the James Beard Foundation was held at the historic Peña-Peck House Museum and Gift Shop, one of the few remaining First Spanish Period buildings (1565 - 1763) in St. Augustine. The museum is managed by The Women’s Exchange, an organization whose mission is to help women enhance their economic stability, promote local artisans and preserve and show the historic Peña-Peck House. “We have a commercial kitchen and we’ve hosted other special events in our award-winning ornamental gardens,” says Brooke Gast, president of the local chapter. “During the pandemic, because we couldn’t open our gift shop, we had pop-up restaurants in the gardens as a way to raise funds for the organization. We weren’t sure how they would go over, but they were well-received. The dinner for the James Beard Foundation is an evolution of those events.”

As diners gain an awareness of the need to support local agriculture, experiencing a meal on a farm has become more popular. When Swallowtail Farm in Alachua hosts seasonal dinners with visiting chefs, the menus typically feature just-picked vegetables from the fields around the tables set up under oaks on the farm and other locally produced ingredients. At a recent dinner, a guest was overheard to say he had never been to a farm before. “The dinners are a way that we can share this beautiful setting and help others appreciate what goes into growing and raising our food,” says Noah Shitama who owns and operates Swallowtail along with his partner Melissa Muller.

Other nearby farms that offer dining experiences include The Feed Mill in St. Augustine, The Farm at Okeefenokee in Folkston, Georgia and Congaree and Penn in North Jacksonville. “Our approach to dining at Congaree and Penn is always evolving. Since hosting our first Friday Night Fish Fry in 2015 we continue to enjoy bringing people together with good food and good times rooted in making new connections,” says Scott Meyer, who owns and operates Congaree and Penn along with his wife Lindsay. “We particularly enjoy offering shared experiences through community events like the oyster social and our lowcountry boil that transform strangers into friends via the shucking of a first oyster or debating the proper ratio of Old Bay to butter.”

If you’re looking for a break from the confines of traditional dining, be on the lookout for the occasional experiential culinary event. It's not just about the food, it’s the setting, storytelling and spaces that create memorable moments in our lives. Dining out is always evolving and these types of experiences help shape our connections to what and where we eat.