It’s the signature “farm table” that sets Outstanding in the Field apart from other event companies. The visual impact of diners—sometimes dozens of them—sitting at one long table, often curving through vineyards or extending along a sandy beach, is simple and compelling at the same time.
The company operates with a “think-outside-the-box” philosophy that makes it difficult to label. It’s not a standard event company or catering outfit. Its specialty is working with local famers and using seasonal, organic food to create occasions centered on that one long table in every imaginable setting. The result, inevitably, is a memorable event.
“We create that story that involves a sense of the place we’re in,” says Katy Oursler, director of private events. “We then share that story with the folks at the table so it becomes an experience of participatory dining.”
Outstanding in the Field was founded in 1998 by Jim Denevan, who started organizing “farmer” dinners in the Santa Cruz area, several in the orchards of his older brother, a local organic farmer. When farmers talked to the diners, Denevan was inspired by the conversations that ensued. People were looking for a connection to the food that they were eating, he thought, and the company was born. Farmers and notable local chefs collaborated on open-air feasts at ranches, vineyards and orchards, and the concept was eventually taken coast to coast when the company purchased a big red and white bus, emblazoned it with the “Outstanding” name and hit the road. Today, Outstanding still takes its signature bus to scheduled dinners around the country, and one-of-a-kind private events have become another specialty.
Oursler says events involve learning about the food on the table—whether it’s a local fisherman describing the freshly caught halibut being served, a farmer talking about his tomato crop or a cheesemaker tracing the evolution of a type of cheese that she created.
The location is often unexpected, Oursler says, which adds to the “wow” factor and sense of “shared discovery” and encourages thoughtful conversation. Outstanding has used community gardens in San Francisco, a beach on the San Mateo County coast and Pie Ranch, a farm in Pescadero, where high school students harvest berries for pastries served at a San Francisco cafe.
At Pie Ranch, for example, Oursler says during a typical corporate event guests arrive for a welcome wine reception, take a tour of the farm to learn about the egg-laying chickens and crops raised, and then spend some time in the strawberry patch picking berries for dinner. Guests are seated at the long farm table where a multiple-course meal is served family-style. A farmer or other guest speaker from the ranch may give a short talk. After dinner, guests are escorted to their cars along a lighted path.
“Instead of bringing food to the people, we’re bringing people to the food,” she says.
Oursler brainstorms with meeting planners about the nature of the event and ways that the company can create an environment that enhances the event’s purpose. If it’s to encourage bonding or creativity or inspire participants, simply the way the dinner is organized can provide results.
“There’s no assigned seating and food is served family-style,” she says. “There’s also the visual impact of seeing everyone sitting at one long table; when you see the table, you see the potential and the size and magnitude of the potential of the people sitting around it.”
