October’s Featured Farmers - Olden Organics & Garden To Be

October is all about one of our favorite fall ingredients: butternut squash.

This month, Chef Dave is featuring beautiful Wisconsin-grown butternut squash from two local producers, Olden Organics and Garden To Be, and showing just how versatile this fall favorite can be.

Olden Organics is a fourth-generation, 100-acre certified organic farm in Ripon, Wisconsin, owned by Richard and Tracy Vinz. The farm grows a wide variety of fresh produce and also operates its own vegetable processing facility, working not only with what they grow themselves but with produce from other Wisconsin farms as well. Their focus on sustainability, local food, and strong connections between farmers and the people they feed makes them a natural fit for our Featured Farmer program. Olden Organics

Garden To Be, owned by Scott Williams, is a family farm in the rolling hills outside Mount Horeb. For years, Scott has supplied Madison-area chefs with specialty vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and other locally grown produce. Garden To Be has long emphasized direct relationships between local farmers and restaurants, and Scott has also played an important role in connecting Wisconsin farms with hunger-relief programs in our community. Dane County Parks

Chef Dave has taken their butternut squash and built an entire four-course menu around it, beginning with a creamy Butternut Soup, followed by a Fall Salad with roasted squash, Moody Blue cheese and smoked maple vinaigrette. The entrée is a Smoked Pork “Ribeye” paired with ancho-rubbed butternut squash and beluga lentils, followed by a rich Squash Pie with clove whipped cream and butterscotch.

Our 4 Course Featured Menu is $50, and each course is also available à la carte at the listed price. All items are gluten free as prepared, and each course can also be created vegetarian with some substitution.

And if you really want to lean into fall, pair dinner with our featured cocktail, the Fall Over, made with bourbon, Winter Dram, orange bitters, smoked maple syrup, and ginger beer.

We hope you’ll join us this October and taste just how much can be done with one great Wisconsin fall crop.

Reservations are encouraged.

Can’t wait to see you out here soon!

The dinner is available for carry out as well - order on-line here.