Jim Denevan started Outstanding in the Field in 1999 as a roaming culinary experience. Instead of sourcing ingredients for a restaurant, this revolutionary alternative to conventional dining brings the restaurant to the source.
Jim Denevan is an American artist who creates geometric sand art that only exists for a short time before it is erased by natural elements. Using a rake, a stick, and careful mathematical calculation, Jim achieves total linear precision without the guide of an aerial view.
The similarity between Denevan’s sand sculptures and his dining encounters is their transient, fleeting nature. Each dinner is one of a kind and only exists for a moment, just like his land art.
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Jim Denevan is best known for his Outstanding in the Field bespoke culinary experiences, which have been held throughout the United States and other countries on vineyards, beaches, meadows, fishing docks and city streets.
By honouring the diligent hands that provide us with food, such as chefs, farmers, fisherpeople, cheesemakers, vintners, brewers and many others, Outstanding in the Field introduces diners to the sources of their food. Its team has invited some of the world’s most well-known chefs and culinary artists to work with them in their field kitchens.
The culinary caravan, which began with a modest dinner on Jim’s brother’s farm, has since travelled to all fifty of the United States and over sixteen other countries across the globe.
Our roving restaurant without walls is rebuilt every morning and disappears every night. It is a momentary experience and a joyful celebration of human connection. Together we gather at one long table to share the most fundamental and universal human conversation: a meal.
Outstanding in the Field’s first African event was hosted in South Africa’s wine capital, Stellenbosch. The dinner was held on Kleinood Estate, a wine and olive farm and home of the award-winning Tamboerskloof wines.
Guests were given a tour of the farm before being directed to the table, during which Kleinood’s winemaker, Reynie-Oosthuizen, spoke about the long history of the estate.
Kleinood is a small farm with ten hectares of land dedicated to vines and two hectares dedicated to olive trees. The rest of the farm has either been planted with fynbos, roses and vegetables or left to grow naturally.
Everything in and around Kleinood is rooted in the history of the de Villiers family as well as the histories of the Cape and the Boland because they believe that it is important to belong, to have a heritage, and to take care of the things that came before us and that put them there.
The name Kleinood, which is derived from Afrikaans with Dutch and German origins, is translated to mean “something small and precious.”
The central focus of Outstanding in the Field is locally sourced, expertly curated, and highly respected ingredients.
Chef Jenny Ward and her gifted kitchen team were the talents behind the delectable fare served at OITF’s first African table.
Chef Ward showcased her expertise in wood-fired cooking to create deliciously flavourful yet straightforward cooking methods using carefully sourced raw ingredients.
The majority of the ingredients used in the fire-centred meal came from the area surrounding Kleinood, including poppy seeds, various types of mushrooms, wild fennel and sage, and even rainbow trout from the nearby stream.
Chef Jenny is currently running Makers Landing in Cape Town. Makers Landing is a food incubation programme that features mostly diverse, female-driven businesses and empowers entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
A table set amongst grapevines and olive groves, glasses filled with luxury Tamboerksloof wines, and cuisine courtesy of innovative wood-wire cooking made for a truly magical al fresco meal.
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Picture: Daniela Zondagh