Brittingham Farms partners with Heirloom Fire for exclusive dinner

Brittingham Farms and Chef James Gop of Heirloom Fire partnered July 8 to present Meadow & Flame, an exclusive dinner in the middle of Brittingham Farms’ fully blooming lavender field in Millsboro.

Laura Brittingham said, "It was an honor of a lifetime to get to host the unbelievably talented James Gop and his Heirloom Fire team from the Berkshires in Massachusetts on our farm in Millsboro in July. We are fourth-generation-owned, but we are the first generation to open the farm up to the public with a large lavender field, lavender distillery and boutique farm store. And what better way to open our doors than with an undeniably unique immersive dinner of this caliber. James Gop is renowned in New England for his over-the-fire cooking, and his experiential catering of the most exclusive weddings. James and I bonded over the course of several phone calls, sharing our love of American history, farming traditions, and our love for high-quality food and experiences. Agriculture is the root of what we do. Food does more than nourish our bodies; it brings people together. Our farm dinner with Heirloom Fire was meant to highlight Southern Delaware farmers and fishermen, in addition to invite our community to our beautiful setting of peak purple within the lavender field of our fourth-generation grain farm. This 70-guest, public event incorporated locally grown, raised or harvested ingredients from 15 local farm families.”

"Heirloom Fire blew our guests away with their delicious preparations of our locally grown summer bounty. James Gop honored our area’s farm community and created an interactive experience for people to learn more about what agriculture means to each of us," said Brittingham. “Gop has shown interest in returning to Southern Delaware with additional farm dinners at Brittingham Farms, as well as to use our farm as a preferred venue as we grow into hosting more weddings. We look forward to booking additional events with him in the very near future."

Gop said, “Our journey to Millsboro, Delaware, at Brittingham Farms was nothing short of extraordinary. From the moment we arrived, we were greeted by the picturesque beauty of the countryside, with rolling lush green fields stretching as far as the eye could see. As a prelude to what we were in for when I had visits a few months ago, the farm's owners Laura and Jon met us as we toured the property one last time to finalize logistics. I couldn't believe how beautiful the lavender fields were – the last time I was down in early spring, they were beautiful, but this time the experience was otherworldly.

“I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to thoughtfully prepare one of the sheep from the farm over the fire. The sheep Laura and Jon raise are a heritage breed brought to early America by George Washington, the Leicester Longwool, a variety I have yet to work with, and they have such tremendous marbling, which lends itself well for our preparation of open-fire cooking,” he said. “When you are working with such quality products, we let them essentially speak for themselves. We used a handcrafted sea salt that was infused with the very lavender that the lamb was cooked in. We presented the slowly roasted farm lamb on a bed of smoldering lavender stems and roasted young carrots from a neighboring farm with a sheep milk ricotta we made over the fire. The dessert was a take on the farm itself. We had spun a lavender-infused sugar into cotton candy to simulate wool. We paired this with lavender vanilla ice cream and honey. Also, Salted Vines, a local winery, produced a lavender-infused white wine from the farm’s fields.”

Collaborating producers were Kerri Harrington of Seaborn Seafood, Arrowhead Point Oysters, Fifer Orchards, Bennett Orchards, Parsons Produce, Dittmar Family Farms, Nice Farms, 6 Kings Farms, Eastview Farms, Twain & Abel, Tall Oak Trading Company, Barrier Islands Salt, Frozen Farmer, and Salted Vines. Brittingham Farms provided the heritage breed lamb, culinary lavender and duck eggs.

Event contractors were photographer Pamela Aquilani, videographer Gretta Greenwald, Coastal Tent Events, and Katina Dawson of A Sweet Affair.