open fire — Blog — WILD ARTIFACT

The hush of dusk falling is interrupted with bouts of laughter and voices, the popping of firewood and whoosh of embers as more fuel is added to a growing fire. Faces flush as the heat reaches skin and bourbon warms the belly. The colors changing in the leaves signifying an end to another season and the hint of anticipation of a new one.

An event inspired by the life and cooking style of Francis Mallmann, king of open fire cooking in his native land of Argentina. Bloomsbury Farm, 425 acres nestled in the rolling hills of Tennessee. A stunning vintage Lord & Burnham Greenhouse, complete with stone base, moved and rebuilt by hand by the owner’s father, to grow his prized orchids in. For the day, though, we are using it to gather and commune. When I design an event for Bloomsbury Farm or my own company, Wild Artifact, I go deep and look for meaning in everything, deep cuts for references and those small details you may never notice but mean everything. Taylor McFerran of The Hallway is the hype man every event, party and friend needs. He’s there to tell you that there’s enough time, split wood, run itinerary and do some impeccable marketing and will throw in enough “beautifuls” with a slight British lilt (he’s from Tennessee) to make you smile and breathe even though no, there is not enough time but it will all be perfect.

The styling slightly Nordic, slightly barbaric enough to think that hunters had just trekked in a mere few hours ago with the meat procured and ready to be cooked. Woodpiles stacked for both function and fashion, sheepskins dotted the landscape and leather hides layered against weathered wood grain.

This table holds stories, you can just make out the whispers of previous occupants, both sitting at the table and when it was the side of an original log cabin on the property, dating back to the Civil War. Bloomsbury Farm, located just outside of Nashville, is the keeper of such stories. Arrowheads and artifacts are routinely found while digging plots for fields and while walking through the forests and fields you rarely feel completely alone.

There is an energy here, a vibration not felt while walking down Broadway or sitting in one of the many new coffee shops that pop up in Nashville. It’s an old energy. The same one felt with hands that cupped the soil in 1756 and the same energy we feel when I walk across the yard or through the sunflower patch. The kind of energy felt when you are in tune with the earth, the moon, the sun. When your livelihood depends on Mother Nature’s kindness and in return you place the respect she deserves.

Chefs Courtney McKay and Rahaf Amer brought their food artistry to the fold when designing the meal for the event. Featuring locally raised meat, organic vegetables from Bloomsbury and a whole mess of cast iron, they elevated everyone’s taste buds. I never knew I needed an 18” cast iron of Lionsmane and Blue Oyster mushrooms but I know acknowledge the mistake I’ve been making all of these years by not having it. They also made my dream come true of roasting chestnuts over an open fire so, checking that off the bucket list.

Observing whole chickens cooking on the fire brought these primal reverberations coursing throughout the air, the gigantic mushrooms blackening over the open flames giving pause. Guests were mesmerized as they passed by and studied.

While farm-to-table dinners hit a trending rate a few years ago I believe in them so much. They take you outside of what you know, outside of the same concrete, air and people that surround you constantly. Whether it’s held outside in a rolling field, camped out in a barn or greenhouse, or being invited into the farmer’s house, it takes us one intention closer. An intention to sit at a table and wonder about someone new, to be curious about brand new person. One step closer to Earth and being invited to a look inside another’s life. That’s a special gift.

Then head back to Garrett to grab another cocktail, a custom bourbon cocktail featuring a burning palo santo stick placed under the glass long enough to smoke it up and capture the essence of the wood. For dinner, of course, Malbec from Argentina.

So, the next time you are at a dinner being held at a farm, step outside the circle of light for a few minutes. Appreciate how long and slow the meal was, the connections made, the conversation had. Feel your feet on the ground, open your hands, breathe deep. Close your eyes. Feel the magic.