What’s Cookin’?

A painted wooden sign invites drivers off Candler’s main thruway and onto the winding residential street that leads to The Farm. There, plenty more hand-crafted furnishings—many built by Myron Gottfried, who co-owns the venue with his wife, Bev—accentuate the grounds’ rustic buildings, which include a farm house, wedding and event space, guest cottages and cabins, stables, and even a “chicken chapel” full of hens.

Newly added in 2016 is a sizable professional kitchen run by Executive Chef Mike Ferrari, who has multiple uses for the space aside from bespoke wedding catering. The Farm Kitchen’s culinary escape package offers a two-night stay plus breakfast prepared by Ferrari, an A-B Tech culinary graduate. On the second evening, guests get a front row seat at a cooking demonstration before enjoying a seasonal dinner. For hands-on learners, the chef holds interactive classes covering pasta-making, soups and broths, braising, and more. Knife skills and other food prep techniques are honed over wine and hors d’oeuvres: “It’s a fun, laid-back cooking class,” the chef assures. “It’s not like a boot camp.”

For all of the classes, Ferrari sources “hyper locally,” he says—a natural choice for his farm-to-kitchen encounters.
                                                                                         
The Farm
215 Justice Ridge Rd., Candler
(828) 667-0666
www.thefarm.kitchen
Culinary escapes are planned throughout the summer. $225-$350 per person. Cooking classes run from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on May 10 (vegetarian cuisine), May 24 (hors d’oeuvres and appetizers), June 7 (meat fabrication), and June 21 (summer ingredients from The Farm garden). $40 per person