Photographing The Farm And The Table Slideshow
Workers unload the day's haul from the boat, collecting oysters from their own oyster beds in Connecticut.
Norm Bloom & Sons
The restaurant orders some 150 to 200 oysters a day, as well as 200 clams a day from Norm Bloom. On good days, the restaurant will also get their hands on some lobsters, all caught the day of and never put in a tank. "Just because you have a fresh lobster doesn't mean it's good," Max said. "They turn bitter if you put them in a tank for too long."
Norm Bloom & Sons
The workers sort and clean the oysters, packaging them for wholesale orders. Most of the oysters are shipped out the day of.
Max Shucking an Oyster
"The beauty of the oyster is actually the liquid in the oyster. That's why you slurp them," Max says, "So after two or three days it starts to dry out, and it's not going to be as good." Ed note: do not shuck sans gloves at home.
Gilbertie’s Herbs
Next, the chefs visit the largest greenhouse farm in the Northeast, where they source all their herbs.
Gilbertie’s Herbs
Renee Giroux, head grower at Gilbertie's, poses with her 3-year-old son Tahleb in the greenhouse, with 4 acres of greenhouse space. "By far this is one of the best finds," Molyneux says, noting that if it weren't for Gilbertie's, they'd be getting all their herbs in the winter from California.
Gilbertie’s Herbs
In addition to the greenhouse, the farm currently grows 27 plots of produce, all planted to order from customers. By the end of the summer, there will be 45.
Gilbertie’s Herbs
For Parallel Posts' plot, the farm is planting heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce, and Caribbean red peppers. When the season ends, they'll swap out their plots for Brussels sprouts in the winter and more.
Surprise Bonus Cow
At Sherwood Farms, where the chefs pick up strawberries, spring onions, sugar snap peas, and chorizo.
Parallel Post
The dinner table set up at the Parallel Post Farm-to-Trumbull dinner.
Starters: Oysters from Norm Bloom & Sons
Max tops off fresh raw oysters with a cucumber and tarragon mignonette made with champagne vinegar and cracked pepper. The cucumber "gives a little brightness," he says.
Signature Cocktails
A gin and crème de violette cocktail from mixologist Gregory Genias, also known as "Bootleg Greg," who creates these purple cocktails for the reception.
Barrel-Aged Cocktails
A brandy and whiskey cocktail, barrel-aged for 30 to 40 days.
'Bootleg Greg'
Strawberry Salad
The strawberries are topped with olive oil and a strawberry vinaigrette, with microgreens from Gilbertie's Herbs, finished off with an aged goat cheese from Coach Farms. "It's almost like a Parmesan of goat cheese," Max says.
Baked Potatoes
Served in a mason jar, the potato purée on the bottom is topped off with a blue cheese crème fraîche, bacon bits, and fresh chives, with twice-baked potato skin chips on the side.
Grilled Spring Onions
The onions, picked up that day at Sherwood Farms, will accompany a steak dish.
Pork and Peaches
Max tops of pork with peaches on top of some baby mustard greens from Gilbertie's.
Cowboy Steaks
The steaks, roasted with the bone on, are topped with black garlic butter over a bed of mustard greens, to be finished with the aforementioned spring onions. "The blood? Right there is where the flavor's at," Max says.
Dessert: Lavender White Chocolate Cheesecake
The cheesecake is decadent as always, but the strawberry sauce (with strawberries purchased at Sherwood earlier that day) was spiced up with an extra kick of cayenne. "It really cuts the [rich white chocolate] and makes you want to eat it again," Max says.
Milk Chocolate Panna Cotta
The second dessert, using Valrhona milk chocolate, is topped with salted caramel, ice cream, and hazelnuts.
Bonus Puppy
Meet Ginger, the resident dog at Gilbertie's.