On the last day of summer, Berkshire Grown, the not-for-profit champion of the farm-to-table movement, held its annual harvest buffet where hundreds of guests tasted dishes made by local chefs with local ingredients. Some chefs and farmers, including Laura Meister of Farm Girl Farm and Daire Rooney of Brix (left), were still giddy from their participation at last week's James Beard House Dinner in New York City. Several guests were fretting about the fate of Eastover, the withering Ralph Lauren-ish resort where the party is always held, which is scheduled to be shuttered later this year. Everyone was raving about the dishes prepared by the 22 partcipating restaurants, espeically Café Reva's Monterey Chevre and Onion Tart and Butternut and Corn Soup, which were made with ingredients from Rawson Brook Farm, Whitney Farm and High Lawn Farm.
Laury Epstein, former Berkshire Grown board president, with Suky Werman of Stonover Farm; photographer Kevin Sprague with the Winthrop Estate's Ethan & Jamie Berg.
Route 7 Grill's owner Lester Blumenthal and cook Brian Phillips, who served slow-smoked pulled pork sandwiches with cabbage and carrot slaw made with ingredients from Sir William Farm, Bow Wow Farm, and Taft Farms.
Red Lion Inn owner Nancy Fitzpatrick with designer Matt Larkin and caterer Katy Baldwin; Calfornia refugees screenwriter Channing Gibson & painter Cynthia Wick.
Heirloom Meals' Carole Murko, Will Laidlaw and Berkshire International Film Festival founder Kelley Vickery.
Pine Cone Hill founder Annie Selke with Dawn Masiero of Guido's; Crystal Soncini and Aura Whitman of Café Reva in Pittsfield, whose Monterey Chevre and Onion Tart and Buternut and Corn Soup were made with ingredients from Rawson Brook Farm, Whitney Farm and High Lawn Farm.
David Renner & Stephen Sherman of The Marketplace Kitchen in Sheffield, which will be expanding to Pittsfield later this year.
Jim Salvadore with Denise Ulick of the Church Street Gallery in Lenox; Pine Cone Hill's Jaime Kelly with Betsy Howard of Williams College.
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Matteline deVries-Dilling, founder of Lite Brite Neon, one of the evening's honoree of this year's Upstate Benefit adresses the gala from the Caboose's caboose.
- Karen Pearson. Courtesy Art Omi.
Olana senior vice president and landscape curatorMark Prezorski, president Sean Sawyer, The evenings honoree Kristin Gamble and New York State Assemblymember Didi Barrett.
- Oxygen House Photo
