Orchard Luncheons
Our luncheons give us a chance to share those
things that inspire us about life on our farm.
An old story — an insight into a special fruit —
the bursting color of the season —
a poem - the very character of our world are our real fare — the foods
and flowers, linens and lovely tables our tools. We also share
information about how to pick, pack, handle and prepare the particular
fruit of the moment.
We talk about our passion for the land and
our dedication to its continuance in
agricultural production.
Special diets can be accommodated,
just let us know at the time of reservation.
Our luncheons each begin at 12:30 p.m.
Find
the dates for our 2019 Events here >
Pre-paid, non-refundable reservations are required
for all of our programs and may be made by
calling our market at 585-638-8838.
MAY
LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019 Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
Orchards in Bloom - Lilacs and Appleblossoms Luncheon
Springtime is ethereal on a fruit farm. Drifts of pale pink and snowy white blossoms line orchard lanes, purple lilacs along the farmyard or in a pretty vase all paint pictures for us more elegant than any human hands could ever create. In the orchard we catch our breath with the realization that each bloom has the potential to become fruit. All hope hangs on the fragile beauty of a gossamer flower.
Linger After Lunch - Cutting and Keeping Lilacs - Learn our secrets for how to make those
lovely stems last!
An Arbor in Spring Luncheon
A garland of wildflowers above an old barn door, or of viburnum and lilacs twined alongside a garden gate, or arching aloft a rustic ladder above the harvest table. Arbors are both vintage and altogether contemporary style, and remind us that we live in a world where flowers surround us always and goodness is within sight and reach. An arbor is also a tree, and on a fruit farm spring is the season for planting trees for the future. This charming luncheon will feature fun spring foods, arbor installations and a talk about the art of flowers and architecture. A complimentary post luncheon orchard tour will show off our just-planted acreage of apple saplings. Come with a creative mindset! Take home a lilac sprig to brighten your day.
Linger After Lunch - The Newly Planted Apple Sapling - Spring Orchard Tour
Spring is in the Aire Luncheon - with Folk Harpist Roxanne Zeigler
Folk harpist Roxanne Zeigler will set the tone for this lyric spring luncheon. The strains of her old fashioned songs like Younger than Springtime or Singin’ in the Rain will charm away your worries while we present a menu replete with the freshness and tenderness of the land in May. Spring is a season of hope and possibility on a farm. After all every blossom can indeed become a fruit, and every seed can germinate. Delicate and delicious springtime recipes will accompany this delightful concert.
Gourmet Spring Garden Luncheon - with Harpist Grace Wong
On elegant tables framed by our beautiful herb gardens, we will serve our gourmet spring and summer menu. While the strains of music float along an early summer breeze and flowers nod along the lavender paths, our servers will greet you with garden recipes that we have been practicing and perfecting. Enjoy this special moment in time on our farm. With harpist Grace Wong.
Taste of the World Luncheon
Dejeuner Champetre: French Countryside Luncheon
Sarah helped us one wonderful summer. And then she moved to France. She and Guillaume, and their three bouncy haired girls live on his family’s heirloom property across the ocean, far far away, but a part of our thought and spirit. In French 'dejeuner' is lunch and 'champetre' is the countryside. Sarah’s authentic French country recipes inspire this international partnership luncheon. In her limestone kitchen along the river in heart of France, Sarah will be serving her family the same fare on the same day.
Linger After Lunch - The Mason Jar Bouquet
Cobblestone Luncheon
Tour following for those interested of the Cobblestone Society Museum and
of the home of Bill Lattin
Our gorgeous stretch of Ridge Rd, pebbled and sandy and perfect for fruit trees, is home to the most impressive collection of cobblestone homes. Their history is tilled from our soil and our heritage, and their presence fills our landscape with grace and grandeur. This luncheon will feature delicious recipes from the cobblestone era. In addition it will be our privilege to enjoy a
brief presentation on cobblestone architecture by Historian Bill Lattin. At the close of the lunch the Cobblestone Museum Complex in Childs, N.Y. will host a complementary tour, and Bill Lattin will open his extraordinary cobblestone home for viewing. A donation of $6.00 per attendee will be made by Hurd Orchards to the Cobblestone Museum.
An Orchard Nest - A Birding Luncheon
Sometimes the song of a bluebird or of a meadowlark keeps us company as we farm. The barn swallows with scissored tails sweep past our heads and past the hewn beams and high above our tasks to their nests of mud in the old Patte place near our flower fields. Hummingbirds surprise us on our pavilion, or next an open lily or a stand of bergamot. The hoot of the owl at night is a soothing reminder that we live in the country and the woods is ever nearby. Once upon a time our barn was hung with a thousand paper cranes, a Japanese symbol of happiness. This luncheon will capture the fun of living with birds on our farm. Between Audubon prints and bird nests to identify, maps of birding outings in our area and a sumptuous May luncheon menu this will be a day to remember. Our special friends Bari Greenfeld and Mike Molnar will share Great Lakes birding reflections.
Linger After Lunch - Whose Nest is That? Western New York Birding Talk
JUNE LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019 Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
The Modern Meadow Luncheon: Wildfower Style
Engage the landscape. Know your meadow. Our long plank tables are fresh with daisies and buttercups and the wild grasses of June displayed with rural savvy. Glorious arched stems of old fashioned yellow roses bend over serving tables laden with luncheon recipes twining the sprightly surprise of foraged greens, the piquant country flavor of buttermilk scones and the just-from-the-hive natural sweetness of raw honey beehive cake. Following luncheon join our roadside wildflower tour immersing yourself in a bit of the natural. Learn about our Bayer Feed a Bee pollinator program and go home with a lovely wildflower bundle and Hurd Orchards wildflower seed mix.
Linger After Lunch - The Daisy Drive
Poppies and Popovers Luncheon
By early June the magic of poppies spreads across our flower fields. Suddenly bursting in shades of carmine and coral, crisp white and true orange, poppies of every variety sweep early summer with energy and radiance. This happy luncheon will also feature fresh-from-the-oven popovers served with warm preserves from the kettle.
Lovely Lemon Luncheon - with Harpist Grace Wong
Once when I was a girl and living in Toronto, Canada, the Queen of England came to town. While she passed by in a stately parade an elegant elderly spectator was overheard to remark: "Oh doesn’t the Queen look Lovely in Lemon!". Since that charming day "lemon" has had a special place in our homes. Even more wonderful - lemon tastes fantastic with all of our fruits! With harpist Grace Wong.
A Spring Shower of Herbs Luncheon: Mint, Chives & Parsley
Mint, chives, parsley - an herb trio complementing dishes that look beautiful and taste delicious. Pretty lavender chive blossoms scattered about a salad, herb butter - fragrant and flecked with green - creamy asparagus soup showered with herbs and lemon, refreshing minted meadow punch. Take home an herb bouquet and a recipe from today’s menu.
Strawberry Shortcake Luncheon
Big bowls of strawberries with whipped cream and hot, freshly made biscuits... pitchers of daisies on farm tables nestled between summer salads and fresh breads with herb butters and jams.
British High Tea
Years ago we took a family trip to England. At the Ullswater Grange in the Lake Country we were served scones piled with clotted cream and freshly made strawberry preserves, after a repast of tea sandwiches. In that moment we understood the calm, the elegance and the spirit of a high tea in the British Isles. Please join us for this delightful June high tea, complete with starched tablecloths, pretty tea pots, tea sandwiches and sweets.
Peonies and Old Roses Luncheon
Soft and the palest pink peonies have bloomed in the June gardens of the country for centuries. The elegant peony gives us a sense of suspended time. A June rose is a bit of annual paradise. Nothing parallels this moment of summer. Enjoy this luncheon, with wreath rings of blush and sherbet twined about the punch bowl, and a menu of equal delicacy. Drop back in time.
Linger After Lunch - The Handheld Peony Bouquet.
Custom of the Country - Eat Fresh!
Marigolds and mint along the garden path. Gathering baskets bursting with fresh, crisp
garden greens and the first of the field’s berries. A springtime soup and a spear of asparagus
cooked to perfection. The olden ways find the flavor of the season - the fleeting, not-long-with-
us, melt-in-your-mouth, savor-the-flavor moments in time when good health and the mid day
menu converge in deliciousness. Nutrition is as old as the countryside.
Monet's Garden Luncheon
Imagine enjoying a lovely French luncheon in the gardens at Giverny - or Hurd Orchards! A Monet moment with a view of our lush countryside in bloom. Today’s canvass is painted with the flavors of France; ‘confiture du jour’ right out of our kettle, handmade breads, coq au vin, or eclairs filled with fruit and creme patisserie…
Strawberries and Chocolate Luncheon
This lovable duet has maximum flavor when good chocolate is paired with our luscious just-picked strawberries. On the stem and dipped in a river of chocolate, folded into a chocolate-almond muffin, finding its way atop a walnut crusted chocolate tart, or chocolate tiramisu… let us inspire your valentine’s menu!
JULY LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019 Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
Cherries Jubilee Luncheon
Fat Black Tartarian cherries. Elegant Emperor Francis - huge cream and pink cheeked cherries - spectacular crimson red Cavalier and lemon yellow ‘golds’ will be featured as garnishes on salads as luscious appetizers and perhaps dipped in chocolate. And nothing is more American than Montmorency cherry pie. Come satisfy your cherry craving. The health benefits are fantastic, but the flavor is unforgettable.
Blueberries Up, Blueberries Down!
... delicious blueberries all around!
Blueberry soup or blueberry catsup,
Blueberry muffins and blueberry pie,
Blueberry bouquets and blueberry baskets,
Blueberry jam under blueberry sky!
Blueberry Festival Luncheon
At Hurd Orchards we call blueberries the happy fruit. They are good for you. They are fun to grow, fun to pick and fun to eat. On our farm we grow ten acres of blueberries. Each of our blueberry fields are quiet havens - birds are overhead, streams ripple by, tall trees border the fields’ edges and the serenity of summer envelops one. In 1916 Victorian Elizabeth White released the first crop of high bush blueberries from her farm, 'Whitesbog', in New Jersey. Immediately the blueberry caught the fancy of North Americans and is now grown worldwide. Come celebrate with us the most delicious of blueberry recipes served in the most creative of ways.
Royal Red Raspberry Luncheon
Today we will feature the exquisite flavors and bright colors of raspberries. Just imagine raspberry chicken - raspberry maple vinaigrette on sparkling garden salad - amazing raspberry jam - and perhaps raspberry Pavlova. You will long remember these wonderful tastes, and the elegance of the occasion.
Black Raspberry Luncheon
Marching along towards the canal are dozens of rows of tall wooden posts laced together with silver wire supporting strong, healthy canes. These are our prized black raspberry bushes - old fashioned Bristols, Jewels and the new Mac Blacks. We have learned the secrets of ideal growing resulting in big black raspberries. From white blossoms opening like stars in May to shiny fat berries in July we tend the soil with food and water and espalier the fronds to trellis and prune and shape to encourage sunlight on every node - and by mid July the breathtaking vista becomes tantalizing tasting opportunity. We pick in half pints and pack in trays and load our berries in our vans for delivery far and wide. Can you imagine the aroma in our jam kitchen - and the wonderful moment when we flock around our jam maker who holds a dozen silver spoons and a tasting jar of the food for the gods? Translate that treat to your homes for the holiday feasts. Extraordinary and soul satisfying.
Festivals and Fairs in the Country
There is something magical about the perfect summer evening at the County Fair. Farm festivals evoke a special spirit of life in America. Come explore the show - blue ribbon fruits and flowers as well as handmade breads and prize winning preserves. Find yourself in awe as you judge a four layer fudge cake with creamed cheese icing, or a rich fruit crisp served with whipped cream. Let us surprise you with our gourmet take on playful dishes from easy going times.
Fancy Fruits and All That Jazz - with Pianist John Nyerges
Snap your fingers and tap your toes as July’s charm is captured in music and recipe. July dazzles us with fruits in abundance. Cherries sweet and tart dance on the July breeze. Giggling blueberries tumble out of overfull berry pails. Red and black raspberries peek cheerily between the crusts of colorful tarts, and the warm flavor of summer apples and sunny apricots makes the menu merry. What fun! This luncheon gives us a chance to call forth our recipes with zip and flair - appetizers passed and the dessert table full as the strains of swing surround us.
Market Basket Picnic
Enjoy a multi course picnic lunch at your table set in our lovely barn, or spread your blanket on our gorgeous grounds! Each group of guests is served a picnic basket packed with our cheese spreads, salads, breads, just picked fruit, our oversized homemade cookies, mason jars with ice teas and summer punch and more! Relax with a book, sketch a landscape, write a poem, reflect on the natural world...
Summer Pie
A slice of pie made with our Yellow Transparent apples is unlike any other apple pie of the entire year. Yellow Transparents ripen on August 1st. Their fragrance in the orchard is like perfume; their flavor is like the sun- mellow and sharp at the same time, warm and smooth at once. This is my favorite pie of all. In mid summer we also make black raspberry pies, or fresh blueberry pies, or summer plum pies - all capture for us visions of back porches in the summer twilight, crickets and katydids chirping in the eve, apples peeled at the kitchen table, berry stained fingers and soft voices by the lamplight enjoying the restful feeling of the day’s work done. Enjoy our farm table.
Classic Herb Garden Luncheon - with Harpist Grace Wong
With the sounds of music floating over our beautiful formal herb gardens we’ll indulge in a marvelous menu incorporating specific herb seasonings with each item. We have magnificent varieties to choose from - both annual and perennial. Herb bouquets will grace our tables, and herbs and edible flowers will garnish our plates. Includes harpist Grace Wong.
Taste of the World Luncheon
The Italian Kitchen Garden
Situated close to the house L’Otro is a source of culinary and visual inspiration for Italy’s home kitchens. Peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs picked at the height of the summer season express the sunny and vivid character of this cuisine. Similarly, we choose our own garden plantings to provide the robust yet refined flavors created in our kitchen. We grow several varieties of basil, oregano, parsley, chives and lettuces which are the backbone of our pesto, vinaigrettes, salads and sauces. Celebrating the seasonal abundance of midsummer in Western New York we pick the ripest, prettiest and most flavorful fruits and vegetables to prepare uncomplicated dishes that let the fresh flavor speak for itself… with a delightful Italian accent!
Butterfly Week:
All Things Bright and Beautiful
As he cut open the miracle of an apple blossom, dad, Leland Hurd, was oft heard saying "It is impossible to be an atheist and be a farmer". The essence of the beauty of our farm world is captured in rhyme and rhythm in this age old hymn. The abundance, flavor, elegance and sustenance-giving nutrients in our fruits and flowers is a constant inspiration to us. Enjoy this luncheon celebrating "All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small".
Sunflower Luncheon
Big splashes of yellows, oranges, golds and burnished chocolate make a striking backdrop for the delectable tastes of August. Our glowing harvests, from garden and orchard will make this luncheon a delight.
Lunch Gathered From the Meadow
Beautiful and nutritious. Surprisingly sumptuous. Sophisticated and refined. We incorporate into today’s menu the rare and the treasured - the herbs and flowers, wild grasses and gatherings from the landscape. Come find out what delicacies the wild greens are - Purslane, Lamb’s Quarters (a tender August green similar to spinach), Ramps, Chickweed, Dandelion, Mint,
Cardoons.... Imagine the elegance of flower petal butters, herb pestos, lamb’s quarter quiche and wild green soup, and the fruits of the moment in luscious presentation.
Easy Elegance: The Western NY Peach with Southern Style
The peach is hand in hand with our own Western New York heritage - from the Iroguois' famed peach orchards in the Genesee Valley, to the dawn of the baby food industry, to now. And similarly peaches are the sacred fruit of the south. Peaches are sensitive to every spring frost making them sometimes elusive, and so in both 'climes a bountiful peach crop is a cause for celebration. With a nod toward easy elegance, we serve a leisurely summertime lunch in
the cool shade of our barn, bringing a taste of the south to our own kitchen at the height of the peach season. Enjoy peach sweet tea, peach bbq chicken, black eyed peas & cabbage slaw, cornbread, peach cobbler or hummingbird cake.....
End of Summer Luncheon with Roxanne Ziegler & Mitzie Collins
One last bowl of summer berries. One last day of summer’s enveloping warmth and ease. Gently fold yourself into the sunset of summer’s luxuries - sunshine and peaches - tomatoes and basil - green leaves, blue sky and the garden’s bounty. Strains of folk harp and mountain dulcimer softly blend and float on a summer’s breeze drifting about our ancient barn and amid the stately cherry trees. Gifted musicians and old friends Mitzie Collins and Roxanne Ziegler will make their strings sing in celebration of life on the farm in summertime.
The Peak of Peak Flavors; The Country Crisp and the Bubblegum Plum
Featuring our new Bubblegum Plum. Baked as a pudding with whipped cream, of course, nothing is more wonderful than a lovely fruit crisp just removed, steaming, from the oven. Our young plum trees, sports of a hundred year old variety from South Dakota, will finally bear enough fruit for us to use in our kitchens. Come taste with us!
Bushels of amber and coral surround us in peach harvest. Warmth and bounty abound. The canning kitchen hums with activity and excitement as jar after jar of golden peaches is neatly packed, ready for winter enjoyment. The ice cream freezer turns slowly and rhythmically adding music to our anticipation of an afternoon picnic. There are fresh, ripe peaches to savor, juice running down our chins. Come join our celebration.
The Heritage Fruit Farm Luncheon and House Tour
"Eat fruit in the morning. Eat fruit in the evening. Eat fruit at suppertime."
It is true that the first step in any meal in our family is to prepare the fruit! Our hope is to share with you through this luncheon how our family really lives on our farm - our menus, our farm homes, our heritage. Our heirloom luncheon will feature recipes created and enjoyed by six generations of our Hurd farm family. Sample selections from as far back as Sue’s great grandmother Isabel Orr Hurd and her creamed turkey pies oft served in a large enamelware round pan at Christmastime, or maybe great grandmother Grace Cady Hurd’s scalloped tomatoes. Tastes from Betty Brent Hurd, Susan Hurd Machamer, Amy Machamer and Amelia will be included. We will also direct you to enjoy a driving tour of our Hurd farmhouses stopping to explore the newly restored 1815 Farnsworth Fulton house.
Linger After Lunch - The Heritage Fruit Farm Farmhouse Tour
The Dahlia Garden Luncheon
By late summer and into early fall the dahlias reign in our fields. Their watercolor half shades catch our breath - a cream that is ever so slightly pink and ever so slightly coffee, eggplant purple, red painted with fire orange edges or salmony gold simply glowing in the autumn sun. Join us for this colorful lunch. Enjoy our bouquets filled with prize winning dahlias. Accompany us to our field trials of dahlias and select a favorite blossom to take home.
Linger After Lunch - Dahlia Garden Tour
Hydrangea Luncheon
There is something about hydrangeas that captures our imagination. Is it the soft and pillowy blossoms from the clearest blues and crisp whites in July or the subtly hued and sophisticated burnishing of autumn? The stateliness of the hydrangea fill our gardens and bouquets with charm from mid summer until frost. Come see how our inspiration has crafted centerpieces from fall’s hydrangea offerings. Enjoy a relaxing lunch and informative talk.
Taste of the World Luncheon
Romanian Lunch
Lavinia Gilca, our most wonderful visiting University student from Romania three years ago, keeps in touch with us all the time via email. Some of you will remember her beautiful smile and enthusiasm. She entertained us with a whole Romanian meal in the picket-fenced yard by her farmhouse. Many Romanian treasures from her homeland were featured. And wow does Lavinia love to bake! Wait until you taste the authentic Romanian recipes that she is sharing with us for this luncheon from her family heritage. We will accompany Lavinia’s exciting menu with our own surprises. And, Lavinia will be serving in her home in far away Eastern Europe, the very same menu at the very same moment that we enjoy together today. Come join us for a deliciously happy autumn afternoon.
September Sunshine Luncheon
The last of summer’s warmth and the first of autumn’s abundance. September is a month that bursts forth with pre frost glory. The colors glow, brighter now with the cold nights - the green of pears and the deep purple of plums, dahlias in aubergine hue, cherry red apple cheeks and the last of the still golden peaches. Let us surprise you with a few uniquely September recipes - maybe a pear and watercress soup or maybe an apple upside down cake ... our harvest basket menu in radiant splendor.
The Harvest Garland Luncheon
Since ancient times baskets of fruit, shocks of grain, singing and hearty foods have adorned table and hearth in celebration of the harvest. Walk beneath our harvest doorway garlanded in festal flair. Dine in gourmet simplicity as summer slowly gives way to fall.
A Ploughman’s Lunch
A country meal. Delicious bread, pots of jams and pickles and chutneys, handmade cheese and scotch eggs and fresh fruit and ramekins of succulent savory luncheon pie. A county treat.
Song of an Orchardist with Sandra Boysen
An orchard in September is lyric - as well as bustling and practical and exuberant. The pickers, the trucks, the bins, the baskets, the red red apples, and the yellow and the green ones - are all like the refrain of a very very old favorite song sung once again, and sung once a year, in September. Monty Mason, an Albion fruit grower and a Cornell friend of my dad’s, captured this spirit in his collection of poems and ditties and philosophical thoughts titled "Song of An Orchardist". Monty wrote them with a twinkle in his eye, and a deep knowledge that fruit growing is a serious business filled with risk and hope and reward - all of which he rendered contagious through the writings of his pen. This luncheon captures the reflective side of the apple world. Delightful Sandra Boysen will capture this spirit in melody. Her voice and presence are radiant.
We northerners love that first cool breeze of fall. Chilly autumn days are warmed by a hearty traditional New England menu. Their straightforward and practical nature is reflected in foods that make the most of seasonal ingredients with delicious simplicity. Old fashioned basics with our updated touches - a slow cooked meal, root vegetables with herbs, apples and walnuts, cranberries and maple, the opening of a jar of summer-made strawberry rhubarb preserves, pies and custards....
Apple Connoisseur's Luncheon
The aroma of apples permeates every corner of our apple barn in October. For those of us who appreciate the exceptional and sophisticated apple world, this is an exclusive opportunity to explore a range of apples with insights from a grower’s and apple breeder’s perspective. We’ll treat you to tastings of unusual, experimental, heirloom and contemporary apples from
the fifty plus varieties in our orchards. In addition to seasonal October entree and vegetables, warm breads and delicious dessert, our luncheon will include apple recipes from soup to nuts. Try our brand new New York State releases!
A Trio of Apple Desserts
Apple trees were a standard on Colonial farms and among the first to be domesticated in our country. Orchards and backyards were home to as many a s100 trees with their fruit standing in for meats and vegetables when times were difficult. To honor our history and love of this dependable fruit enjoy a chef’s sampler of some favorite American apple recipes.
A gorgeous, crunchy main dish salad bursting with color, flavor and flirt, and a rich fall soup will help you feel less guilty about having three desserts!
Maple Leaf Luncheon
Ablaze with colors from our North Eastern hardwood forests, our 200 year old barn will provide an awe inspiring setting for our sumptuous fall feast. Canadian tastes from French Canada’s ‘pork tortiere’ to butter tarts and traditional maple recipes will delight the palette and punctuate our tasty menu.
Fall Foliage Luncheon
Fall is the culmination of all that is beautiful - the seasonal grande finale. Gorgeous bronze, red and gold leaves, dahlias and zinnias of every hue will provide a feast for the eyes, as we enjoy fall fare featuring squashes, berries, plums, apples and pears. We will tame the riot of color in the countryside bringing inside branches and blooms to glow against the soft color of the old beams and boards of our barn.
Apple Butter And Apple Pie Luncheon
Enhancing our lunch du jour will be hot apple butter right out of the kettle (come watch the process!) served on breads steaming from our bake ovens. And if you could choose any dessert in the world on October 19th it MUST be apple pie! Our featured recipes will compliment a delightful seasonal menu.
Harvest Table Luncheon
The moment is finally arrived when we have completed the harvest of apples, berries, flowers, pumpkins and squashes. Can you imagine the fun you’ll have savoring our special menu and luxuriating in the colorful harvest gatherings of late October?
Pumpkin Gourmet Luncheon
Pumpkin everything! The fields are full of round orange jack-o-lanterns, flat grey-green pumpkins, golden squashes, deep paprika bumpy pumpkins and tiny little mini pumpkins Enjoy this creative luncheon - eat pumpkin soup, old fashioned pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cake, even pumpkin seeds - they are delicious, believe me, I’ve tried them!
-Amelia
* Please refer to our 2019 Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
Orchards in Bloom - Lilacs and Appleblossoms Luncheon
Springtime is ethereal on a fruit farm. Drifts of pale pink and snowy white blossoms line orchard lanes, purple lilacs along the farmyard or in a pretty vase all paint pictures for us more elegant than any human hands could ever create. In the orchard we catch our breath with the realization that each bloom has the potential to become fruit. All hope hangs on the fragile beauty of a gossamer flower.
Linger After Lunch - Cutting and Keeping Lilacs - Learn our secrets for how to make those
lovely stems last!
An Arbor in Spring Luncheon
A garland of wildflowers above an old barn door, or of viburnum and lilacs twined alongside a garden gate, or arching aloft a rustic ladder above the harvest table. Arbors are both vintage and altogether contemporary style, and remind us that we live in a world where flowers surround us always and goodness is within sight and reach. An arbor is also a tree, and on a fruit farm spring is the season for planting trees for the future. This charming luncheon will feature fun spring foods, arbor installations and a talk about the art of flowers and architecture. A complimentary post luncheon orchard tour will show off our just-planted acreage of apple saplings. Come with a creative mindset! Take home a lilac sprig to brighten your day.
Linger After Lunch - The Newly Planted Apple Sapling - Spring Orchard Tour
Spring is in the Aire Luncheon - with Folk Harpist Roxanne Zeigler
Folk harpist Roxanne Zeigler will set the tone for this lyric spring luncheon. The strains of her old fashioned songs like Younger than Springtime or Singin’ in the Rain will charm away your worries while we present a menu replete with the freshness and tenderness of the land in May. Spring is a season of hope and possibility on a farm. After all every blossom can indeed become a fruit, and every seed can germinate. Delicate and delicious springtime recipes will accompany this delightful concert.
Gourmet Spring Garden Luncheon - with Harpist Grace Wong
On elegant tables framed by our beautiful herb gardens, we will serve our gourmet spring and summer menu. While the strains of music float along an early summer breeze and flowers nod along the lavender paths, our servers will greet you with garden recipes that we have been practicing and perfecting. Enjoy this special moment in time on our farm. With harpist Grace Wong.
Taste of the World Luncheon
Dejeuner Champetre: French Countryside Luncheon
Sarah helped us one wonderful summer. And then she moved to France. She and Guillaume, and their three bouncy haired girls live on his family’s heirloom property across the ocean, far far away, but a part of our thought and spirit. In French 'dejeuner' is lunch and 'champetre' is the countryside. Sarah’s authentic French country recipes inspire this international partnership luncheon. In her limestone kitchen along the river in heart of France, Sarah will be serving her family the same fare on the same day.
Linger After Lunch - The Mason Jar Bouquet
Cobblestone Luncheon
Tour following for those interested of the Cobblestone Society Museum and
of the home of Bill Lattin
Our gorgeous stretch of Ridge Rd, pebbled and sandy and perfect for fruit trees, is home to the most impressive collection of cobblestone homes. Their history is tilled from our soil and our heritage, and their presence fills our landscape with grace and grandeur. This luncheon will feature delicious recipes from the cobblestone era. In addition it will be our privilege to enjoy a
brief presentation on cobblestone architecture by Historian Bill Lattin. At the close of the lunch the Cobblestone Museum Complex in Childs, N.Y. will host a complementary tour, and Bill Lattin will open his extraordinary cobblestone home for viewing. A donation of $6.00 per attendee will be made by Hurd Orchards to the Cobblestone Museum.
An Orchard Nest - A Birding Luncheon
Sometimes the song of a bluebird or of a meadowlark keeps us company as we farm. The barn swallows with scissored tails sweep past our heads and past the hewn beams and high above our tasks to their nests of mud in the old Patte place near our flower fields. Hummingbirds surprise us on our pavilion, or next an open lily or a stand of bergamot. The hoot of the owl at night is a soothing reminder that we live in the country and the woods is ever nearby. Once upon a time our barn was hung with a thousand paper cranes, a Japanese symbol of happiness. This luncheon will capture the fun of living with birds on our farm. Between Audubon prints and bird nests to identify, maps of birding outings in our area and a sumptuous May luncheon menu this will be a day to remember. Our special friends Bari Greenfeld and Mike Molnar will share Great Lakes birding reflections.
Linger After Lunch - Whose Nest is That? Western New York Birding Talk
JUNE LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019 Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
The Modern Meadow Luncheon: Wildfower Style
Engage the landscape. Know your meadow. Our long plank tables are fresh with daisies and buttercups and the wild grasses of June displayed with rural savvy. Glorious arched stems of old fashioned yellow roses bend over serving tables laden with luncheon recipes twining the sprightly surprise of foraged greens, the piquant country flavor of buttermilk scones and the just-from-the-hive natural sweetness of raw honey beehive cake. Following luncheon join our roadside wildflower tour immersing yourself in a bit of the natural. Learn about our Bayer Feed a Bee pollinator program and go home with a lovely wildflower bundle and Hurd Orchards wildflower seed mix.
Linger After Lunch - The Daisy Drive
Poppies and Popovers Luncheon
By early June the magic of poppies spreads across our flower fields. Suddenly bursting in shades of carmine and coral, crisp white and true orange, poppies of every variety sweep early summer with energy and radiance. This happy luncheon will also feature fresh-from-the-oven popovers served with warm preserves from the kettle.
Lovely Lemon Luncheon - with Harpist Grace Wong
Once when I was a girl and living in Toronto, Canada, the Queen of England came to town. While she passed by in a stately parade an elegant elderly spectator was overheard to remark: "Oh doesn’t the Queen look Lovely in Lemon!". Since that charming day "lemon" has had a special place in our homes. Even more wonderful - lemon tastes fantastic with all of our fruits! With harpist Grace Wong.
A Spring Shower of Herbs Luncheon: Mint, Chives & Parsley
Mint, chives, parsley - an herb trio complementing dishes that look beautiful and taste delicious. Pretty lavender chive blossoms scattered about a salad, herb butter - fragrant and flecked with green - creamy asparagus soup showered with herbs and lemon, refreshing minted meadow punch. Take home an herb bouquet and a recipe from today’s menu.
Strawberry Shortcake Luncheon
Big bowls of strawberries with whipped cream and hot, freshly made biscuits... pitchers of daisies on farm tables nestled between summer salads and fresh breads with herb butters and jams.
British High Tea
Years ago we took a family trip to England. At the Ullswater Grange in the Lake Country we were served scones piled with clotted cream and freshly made strawberry preserves, after a repast of tea sandwiches. In that moment we understood the calm, the elegance and the spirit of a high tea in the British Isles. Please join us for this delightful June high tea, complete with starched tablecloths, pretty tea pots, tea sandwiches and sweets.
Peonies and Old Roses Luncheon
Soft and the palest pink peonies have bloomed in the June gardens of the country for centuries. The elegant peony gives us a sense of suspended time. A June rose is a bit of annual paradise. Nothing parallels this moment of summer. Enjoy this luncheon, with wreath rings of blush and sherbet twined about the punch bowl, and a menu of equal delicacy. Drop back in time.
Linger After Lunch - The Handheld Peony Bouquet.
Custom of the Country - Eat Fresh!
Marigolds and mint along the garden path. Gathering baskets bursting with fresh, crisp
garden greens and the first of the field’s berries. A springtime soup and a spear of asparagus
cooked to perfection. The olden ways find the flavor of the season - the fleeting, not-long-with-
us, melt-in-your-mouth, savor-the-flavor moments in time when good health and the mid day
menu converge in deliciousness. Nutrition is as old as the countryside.
Monet's Garden Luncheon
Imagine enjoying a lovely French luncheon in the gardens at Giverny - or Hurd Orchards! A Monet moment with a view of our lush countryside in bloom. Today’s canvass is painted with the flavors of France; ‘confiture du jour’ right out of our kettle, handmade breads, coq au vin, or eclairs filled with fruit and creme patisserie…
Strawberries and Chocolate Luncheon
This lovable duet has maximum flavor when good chocolate is paired with our luscious just-picked strawberries. On the stem and dipped in a river of chocolate, folded into a chocolate-almond muffin, finding its way atop a walnut crusted chocolate tart, or chocolate tiramisu… let us inspire your valentine’s menu!
JULY LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019 Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
Cherries Jubilee Luncheon
Fat Black Tartarian cherries. Elegant Emperor Francis - huge cream and pink cheeked cherries - spectacular crimson red Cavalier and lemon yellow ‘golds’ will be featured as garnishes on salads as luscious appetizers and perhaps dipped in chocolate. And nothing is more American than Montmorency cherry pie. Come satisfy your cherry craving. The health benefits are fantastic, but the flavor is unforgettable.
Blueberries Up, Blueberries Down!
... delicious blueberries all around!
Blueberry soup or blueberry catsup,
Blueberry muffins and blueberry pie,
Blueberry bouquets and blueberry baskets,
Blueberry jam under blueberry sky!
Blueberry Festival Luncheon
At Hurd Orchards we call blueberries the happy fruit. They are good for you. They are fun to grow, fun to pick and fun to eat. On our farm we grow ten acres of blueberries. Each of our blueberry fields are quiet havens - birds are overhead, streams ripple by, tall trees border the fields’ edges and the serenity of summer envelops one. In 1916 Victorian Elizabeth White released the first crop of high bush blueberries from her farm, 'Whitesbog', in New Jersey. Immediately the blueberry caught the fancy of North Americans and is now grown worldwide. Come celebrate with us the most delicious of blueberry recipes served in the most creative of ways.
Royal Red Raspberry Luncheon
Today we will feature the exquisite flavors and bright colors of raspberries. Just imagine raspberry chicken - raspberry maple vinaigrette on sparkling garden salad - amazing raspberry jam - and perhaps raspberry Pavlova. You will long remember these wonderful tastes, and the elegance of the occasion.
Black Raspberry Luncheon
Marching along towards the canal are dozens of rows of tall wooden posts laced together with silver wire supporting strong, healthy canes. These are our prized black raspberry bushes - old fashioned Bristols, Jewels and the new Mac Blacks. We have learned the secrets of ideal growing resulting in big black raspberries. From white blossoms opening like stars in May to shiny fat berries in July we tend the soil with food and water and espalier the fronds to trellis and prune and shape to encourage sunlight on every node - and by mid July the breathtaking vista becomes tantalizing tasting opportunity. We pick in half pints and pack in trays and load our berries in our vans for delivery far and wide. Can you imagine the aroma in our jam kitchen - and the wonderful moment when we flock around our jam maker who holds a dozen silver spoons and a tasting jar of the food for the gods? Translate that treat to your homes for the holiday feasts. Extraordinary and soul satisfying.
Festivals and Fairs in the Country
There is something magical about the perfect summer evening at the County Fair. Farm festivals evoke a special spirit of life in America. Come explore the show - blue ribbon fruits and flowers as well as handmade breads and prize winning preserves. Find yourself in awe as you judge a four layer fudge cake with creamed cheese icing, or a rich fruit crisp served with whipped cream. Let us surprise you with our gourmet take on playful dishes from easy going times.
Fancy Fruits and All That Jazz - with Pianist John Nyerges
Snap your fingers and tap your toes as July’s charm is captured in music and recipe. July dazzles us with fruits in abundance. Cherries sweet and tart dance on the July breeze. Giggling blueberries tumble out of overfull berry pails. Red and black raspberries peek cheerily between the crusts of colorful tarts, and the warm flavor of summer apples and sunny apricots makes the menu merry. What fun! This luncheon gives us a chance to call forth our recipes with zip and flair - appetizers passed and the dessert table full as the strains of swing surround us.
Market Basket Picnic
Enjoy a multi course picnic lunch at your table set in our lovely barn, or spread your blanket on our gorgeous grounds! Each group of guests is served a picnic basket packed with our cheese spreads, salads, breads, just picked fruit, our oversized homemade cookies, mason jars with ice teas and summer punch and more! Relax with a book, sketch a landscape, write a poem, reflect on the natural world...
AUGUST LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019
Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events .
Summer Pie
A slice of pie made with our Yellow Transparent apples is unlike any other apple pie of the entire year. Yellow Transparents ripen on August 1st. Their fragrance in the orchard is like perfume; their flavor is like the sun- mellow and sharp at the same time, warm and smooth at once. This is my favorite pie of all. In mid summer we also make black raspberry pies, or fresh blueberry pies, or summer plum pies - all capture for us visions of back porches in the summer twilight, crickets and katydids chirping in the eve, apples peeled at the kitchen table, berry stained fingers and soft voices by the lamplight enjoying the restful feeling of the day’s work done. Enjoy our farm table.
Classic Herb Garden Luncheon - with Harpist Grace Wong
With the sounds of music floating over our beautiful formal herb gardens we’ll indulge in a marvelous menu incorporating specific herb seasonings with each item. We have magnificent varieties to choose from - both annual and perennial. Herb bouquets will grace our tables, and herbs and edible flowers will garnish our plates. Includes harpist Grace Wong.
Taste of the World Luncheon
The Italian Kitchen Garden
Situated close to the house L’Otro is a source of culinary and visual inspiration for Italy’s home kitchens. Peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic and herbs picked at the height of the summer season express the sunny and vivid character of this cuisine. Similarly, we choose our own garden plantings to provide the robust yet refined flavors created in our kitchen. We grow several varieties of basil, oregano, parsley, chives and lettuces which are the backbone of our pesto, vinaigrettes, salads and sauces. Celebrating the seasonal abundance of midsummer in Western New York we pick the ripest, prettiest and most flavorful fruits and vegetables to prepare uncomplicated dishes that let the fresh flavor speak for itself… with a delightful Italian accent!
Butterfly Week:
Butterfly
Garden Luncheon
Our exquisite zinnia garden, with dazzling splashes of brilliant color, hovers and shimmers all the late summer with visiting butterflies. It is magic. Our carefree luncheon will interpret this fairytale moment in color and taste...butterfly cookies included! Butterflies are a gorgeous glimpse at how we share the natural world. At the close of this luncheon please join us decorating swallowtail cookies!
Monarch Fiesta
Beautiful butterflies everywhere! All summer long we have been raising Monarch butterflies ready to release for their long flight to their winter home high in the mountains of Mexico. Symbolic of the summer’s end, and as well of our farm’s partnership with our Mexican friends, this luncheon will feature a delicious cross-cultural menu. Taste the tortillas and American apple pie and watch as we release our butterflies.
Linger After Lunch - Monarch Butterfly Release
Our exquisite zinnia garden, with dazzling splashes of brilliant color, hovers and shimmers all the late summer with visiting butterflies. It is magic. Our carefree luncheon will interpret this fairytale moment in color and taste...butterfly cookies included! Butterflies are a gorgeous glimpse at how we share the natural world. At the close of this luncheon please join us decorating swallowtail cookies!
Monarch Fiesta
Beautiful butterflies everywhere! All summer long we have been raising Monarch butterflies ready to release for their long flight to their winter home high in the mountains of Mexico. Symbolic of the summer’s end, and as well of our farm’s partnership with our Mexican friends, this luncheon will feature a delicious cross-cultural menu. Taste the tortillas and American apple pie and watch as we release our butterflies.
Linger After Lunch - Monarch Butterfly Release
All Things Bright and Beautiful
As he cut open the miracle of an apple blossom, dad, Leland Hurd, was oft heard saying "It is impossible to be an atheist and be a farmer". The essence of the beauty of our farm world is captured in rhyme and rhythm in this age old hymn. The abundance, flavor, elegance and sustenance-giving nutrients in our fruits and flowers is a constant inspiration to us. Enjoy this luncheon celebrating "All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Creatures Great and Small".
Sunflower Luncheon
Big splashes of yellows, oranges, golds and burnished chocolate make a striking backdrop for the delectable tastes of August. Our glowing harvests, from garden and orchard will make this luncheon a delight.
Lunch Gathered From the Meadow
Beautiful and nutritious. Surprisingly sumptuous. Sophisticated and refined. We incorporate into today’s menu the rare and the treasured - the herbs and flowers, wild grasses and gatherings from the landscape. Come find out what delicacies the wild greens are - Purslane, Lamb’s Quarters (a tender August green similar to spinach), Ramps, Chickweed, Dandelion, Mint,
Cardoons.... Imagine the elegance of flower petal butters, herb pestos, lamb’s quarter quiche and wild green soup, and the fruits of the moment in luscious presentation.
Easy Elegance: The Western NY Peach with Southern Style
The peach is hand in hand with our own Western New York heritage - from the Iroguois' famed peach orchards in the Genesee Valley, to the dawn of the baby food industry, to now. And similarly peaches are the sacred fruit of the south. Peaches are sensitive to every spring frost making them sometimes elusive, and so in both 'climes a bountiful peach crop is a cause for celebration. With a nod toward easy elegance, we serve a leisurely summertime lunch in
the cool shade of our barn, bringing a taste of the south to our own kitchen at the height of the peach season. Enjoy peach sweet tea, peach bbq chicken, black eyed peas & cabbage slaw, cornbread, peach cobbler or hummingbird cake.....
End of Summer Luncheon with Roxanne Ziegler & Mitzie Collins
One last bowl of summer berries. One last day of summer’s enveloping warmth and ease. Gently fold yourself into the sunset of summer’s luxuries - sunshine and peaches - tomatoes and basil - green leaves, blue sky and the garden’s bounty. Strains of folk harp and mountain dulcimer softly blend and float on a summer’s breeze drifting about our ancient barn and amid the stately cherry trees. Gifted musicians and old friends Mitzie Collins and Roxanne Ziegler will make their strings sing in celebration of life on the farm in summertime.
The Peak of Peak Flavors; The Country Crisp and the Bubblegum Plum
Featuring our new Bubblegum Plum. Baked as a pudding with whipped cream, of course, nothing is more wonderful than a lovely fruit crisp just removed, steaming, from the oven. Our young plum trees, sports of a hundred year old variety from South Dakota, will finally bear enough fruit for us to use in our kitchens. Come taste with us!
SEPTEMBER
LUNCHEONS
* Please
refer to our 2019
Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
Bushels of amber and coral surround us in peach harvest. Warmth and bounty abound. The canning kitchen hums with activity and excitement as jar after jar of golden peaches is neatly packed, ready for winter enjoyment. The ice cream freezer turns slowly and rhythmically adding music to our anticipation of an afternoon picnic. There are fresh, ripe peaches to savor, juice running down our chins. Come join our celebration.
The Heritage Fruit Farm Luncheon and House Tour
"Eat fruit in the morning. Eat fruit in the evening. Eat fruit at suppertime."
It is true that the first step in any meal in our family is to prepare the fruit! Our hope is to share with you through this luncheon how our family really lives on our farm - our menus, our farm homes, our heritage. Our heirloom luncheon will feature recipes created and enjoyed by six generations of our Hurd farm family. Sample selections from as far back as Sue’s great grandmother Isabel Orr Hurd and her creamed turkey pies oft served in a large enamelware round pan at Christmastime, or maybe great grandmother Grace Cady Hurd’s scalloped tomatoes. Tastes from Betty Brent Hurd, Susan Hurd Machamer, Amy Machamer and Amelia will be included. We will also direct you to enjoy a driving tour of our Hurd farmhouses stopping to explore the newly restored 1815 Farnsworth Fulton house.
Linger After Lunch - The Heritage Fruit Farm Farmhouse Tour
The Dahlia Garden Luncheon
By late summer and into early fall the dahlias reign in our fields. Their watercolor half shades catch our breath - a cream that is ever so slightly pink and ever so slightly coffee, eggplant purple, red painted with fire orange edges or salmony gold simply glowing in the autumn sun. Join us for this colorful lunch. Enjoy our bouquets filled with prize winning dahlias. Accompany us to our field trials of dahlias and select a favorite blossom to take home.
Linger After Lunch - Dahlia Garden Tour
Hydrangea Luncheon
There is something about hydrangeas that captures our imagination. Is it the soft and pillowy blossoms from the clearest blues and crisp whites in July or the subtly hued and sophisticated burnishing of autumn? The stateliness of the hydrangea fill our gardens and bouquets with charm from mid summer until frost. Come see how our inspiration has crafted centerpieces from fall’s hydrangea offerings. Enjoy a relaxing lunch and informative talk.
Taste of the World Luncheon
Romanian Lunch
Lavinia Gilca, our most wonderful visiting University student from Romania three years ago, keeps in touch with us all the time via email. Some of you will remember her beautiful smile and enthusiasm. She entertained us with a whole Romanian meal in the picket-fenced yard by her farmhouse. Many Romanian treasures from her homeland were featured. And wow does Lavinia love to bake! Wait until you taste the authentic Romanian recipes that she is sharing with us for this luncheon from her family heritage. We will accompany Lavinia’s exciting menu with our own surprises. And, Lavinia will be serving in her home in far away Eastern Europe, the very same menu at the very same moment that we enjoy together today. Come join us for a deliciously happy autumn afternoon.
September Sunshine Luncheon
The last of summer’s warmth and the first of autumn’s abundance. September is a month that bursts forth with pre frost glory. The colors glow, brighter now with the cold nights - the green of pears and the deep purple of plums, dahlias in aubergine hue, cherry red apple cheeks and the last of the still golden peaches. Let us surprise you with a few uniquely September recipes - maybe a pear and watercress soup or maybe an apple upside down cake ... our harvest basket menu in radiant splendor.
The Harvest Garland Luncheon
Since ancient times baskets of fruit, shocks of grain, singing and hearty foods have adorned table and hearth in celebration of the harvest. Walk beneath our harvest doorway garlanded in festal flair. Dine in gourmet simplicity as summer slowly gives way to fall.
A Ploughman’s Lunch
A country meal. Delicious bread, pots of jams and pickles and chutneys, handmade cheese and scotch eggs and fresh fruit and ramekins of succulent savory luncheon pie. A county treat.
Song of an Orchardist with Sandra Boysen
An orchard in September is lyric - as well as bustling and practical and exuberant. The pickers, the trucks, the bins, the baskets, the red red apples, and the yellow and the green ones - are all like the refrain of a very very old favorite song sung once again, and sung once a year, in September. Monty Mason, an Albion fruit grower and a Cornell friend of my dad’s, captured this spirit in his collection of poems and ditties and philosophical thoughts titled "Song of An Orchardist". Monty wrote them with a twinkle in his eye, and a deep knowledge that fruit growing is a serious business filled with risk and hope and reward - all of which he rendered contagious through the writings of his pen. This luncheon captures the reflective side of the apple world. Delightful Sandra Boysen will capture this spirit in melody. Her voice and presence are radiant.
OCTOBER
LUNCHEONS
* Please refer to our 2019
Calendar for dates and times of currently scheduled events *
Every Tree Tells a Story
In an orchard years ago, beneath the gnarled trunks of the old apple
trees, we found an 1829 penny. Even Papa, born in 1900, did not know
who planted that orchard. That orchard, still standing, must know so
much of the passing years. What is a tree? Who are the parents of the
apple or the pear, the peach or the cherry, the plum or the quince?
What is the magic that turns simple blossoms into substantial fruit?
And what does the tree mean to us? The straight even rows of the
orchard; the singular stately tree alone in the big meadow, the
friendly branches that sweep the backyard. Artists the world over have
tried to capture the tree in rhyme and in reflection, or with brush
and camera, and yet the tree demurely continues on, quietly guarding
its secrets. Come let us share our world of orchard trees and how very
meaningful they are to us. Learn a bit about farming!
Linger
After Lunch - Fresh From the Bough
Snapdragon Orchard Tour
Recipes from Mattison's
Tavern - Cookery from the Inns of Ridge Road
Beneath our little market is the foundation of Mattison’s Tavern. It
was built in 1817 and lost to a lightening strike in 1949. In
stagecoach years there was an inn every 8 miles on Ridge Road from the
Genesee River to the great Niagara. We are still finding old blue and
white pottery shards
in the rich sandy soil and my mum says that the basement floor - still
beneath us - was herringbone brick, and that bake fireplaces flanked
each end. Its doorstep was on the very edge of the road, having stood
there awaiting coach travelers since it first opened. We still greet
guests with refreshment from this very same spot. And there have been
cherry trees about always, even to this day. Come taste an authentic
traveller’s meal.
Orchard Concert Luncheon
with Harpist Grace Wong
As apple harvest escalates to its most glorious pitch we take this
time amid the gathering to share our thankfulness for a wonderful
season. With the strains of music drifting above the treetops we’ll
enjoy this most wonderful autumn repast resplendent with fall color
and tastes. Includes harpist Grace Wong, principal harpist of the
Rochester Philharmonic.
New Moon Barn Dance and
Count Your Blessings Harvest Menu
With honeyed beams glowing and lantern light twinkling and festive
fall foods- Dance the Night Away and Tap your Toes to both traditional
and progressive bluegrass. Meet the Farmers, Young and Old - Taste the
Treasures of Field and Furrow - Cash Bar presented by local artisans.
In the last few years this has been one of the most dynamic programs
on our farm - filled with energy and sprit! Reservations required.
The Heirloom Orchard Luncheon
& Orchard Tour
Northern "Spy pies". Steamed Quince Pudding. Rich, sweet Golden
Russett apple cider. The Snow. The King. The Jonathan. The charm of
heritage apple varieties is that they differ from one another so
dramatically - mellow, strong, zesty, delicate, tender, hard,
aromatic… Nana and Papa planted an orchard for us many decades ago of
their favorite "old" apple varieties. Let us share with you their
magic and their stories and the lovely foods we have prepared with
them. This luncheon is a rare treat and insight into the fruit growers
world and knowledge.
Apple Sampler Luncheon
From Snapdragons to piquant Golden Russetts; old fashioned Rhode
Island Greenings to the sweetest of Fuji’s, the winter fresh Rubyfrost
to charming petite Lady Apples; the culture and the couture of the
apple world is dazzling. A botanical boutique. Within the apple there
is the
magic of nature and succulent secrets hidden in every bite. Hear our
stories, learn our work, see and discover what is new and what is old
- all while enjoying a gourmet apple lunch. Take home a curated
collection of apples as a complimentary orchard-in-autumn gift.
Pies, Pies, Pies!
Of history and Americana - chicken pies, apple pies, meat pies, fruits
pies, veggie pies, herb pies, plum pies, berry pies! Select from our
festive farmland board of delectable, homemade pies - with some lovely
salads and side dishes included. Come give a blue ribbon to your
favorites.
We northerners love that first cool breeze of fall. Chilly autumn days are warmed by a hearty traditional New England menu. Their straightforward and practical nature is reflected in foods that make the most of seasonal ingredients with delicious simplicity. Old fashioned basics with our updated touches - a slow cooked meal, root vegetables with herbs, apples and walnuts, cranberries and maple, the opening of a jar of summer-made strawberry rhubarb preserves, pies and custards....
Apple Connoisseur's Luncheon
The aroma of apples permeates every corner of our apple barn in October. For those of us who appreciate the exceptional and sophisticated apple world, this is an exclusive opportunity to explore a range of apples with insights from a grower’s and apple breeder’s perspective. We’ll treat you to tastings of unusual, experimental, heirloom and contemporary apples from
the fifty plus varieties in our orchards. In addition to seasonal October entree and vegetables, warm breads and delicious dessert, our luncheon will include apple recipes from soup to nuts. Try our brand new New York State releases!
A Trio of Apple Desserts
Apple trees were a standard on Colonial farms and among the first to be domesticated in our country. Orchards and backyards were home to as many a s100 trees with their fruit standing in for meats and vegetables when times were difficult. To honor our history and love of this dependable fruit enjoy a chef’s sampler of some favorite American apple recipes.
A gorgeous, crunchy main dish salad bursting with color, flavor and flirt, and a rich fall soup will help you feel less guilty about having three desserts!
Maple Leaf Luncheon
Ablaze with colors from our North Eastern hardwood forests, our 200 year old barn will provide an awe inspiring setting for our sumptuous fall feast. Canadian tastes from French Canada’s ‘pork tortiere’ to butter tarts and traditional maple recipes will delight the palette and punctuate our tasty menu.
Fall Foliage Luncheon
Fall is the culmination of all that is beautiful - the seasonal grande finale. Gorgeous bronze, red and gold leaves, dahlias and zinnias of every hue will provide a feast for the eyes, as we enjoy fall fare featuring squashes, berries, plums, apples and pears. We will tame the riot of color in the countryside bringing inside branches and blooms to glow against the soft color of the old beams and boards of our barn.
Apple Butter And Apple Pie Luncheon
Enhancing our lunch du jour will be hot apple butter right out of the kettle (come watch the process!) served on breads steaming from our bake ovens. And if you could choose any dessert in the world on October 19th it MUST be apple pie! Our featured recipes will compliment a delightful seasonal menu.
“An apple pie when it looks nice
might make one long to have a slice
And if the taste should prove good too
A little slice would hardly do
So to prevent my asking twice,
Please cut for me a great big slice!”
—Betty Hurd
Harvest Table Luncheon
The moment is finally arrived when we have completed the harvest of apples, berries, flowers, pumpkins and squashes. Can you imagine the fun you’ll have savoring our special menu and luxuriating in the colorful harvest gatherings of late October?
Pumpkin Gourmet Luncheon
Pumpkin everything! The fields are full of round orange jack-o-lanterns, flat grey-green pumpkins, golden squashes, deep paprika bumpy pumpkins and tiny little mini pumpkins Enjoy this creative luncheon - eat pumpkin soup, old fashioned pumpkin pie, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin cake, even pumpkin seeds - they are delicious, believe me, I’ve tried them!
-Amelia