Farm tours, a pot-luck lunch, local wines, and Argentine-style barbecue highlight Newman Farm's annual Memorial Day celebration.
Part of the fun of the annual farm-to-table party at Newman Farm is to see what pot luck dishes show up. Most of the guests to the Memorial Day weekend event are pork-loving foodies, and many are experienced local chefs.
At last year’s Pork, Fork, Cork and Lamb, the Peabody’s executive pastry chef Konrad Spitzbart gave new meaning to the words sheet cake. Rita Newman, who operates the farm in Myrtle, Missouri, with her husband, Mark, recalls the cake like this:
“It was a jaw dropper; like no sheet cake I’d ever seen,” she said, laughing. “It must have been three feet long and five feet high, and by the end of the day there wasn’t anything left.”
While not obligatory, many guests contribute dishes to the event’s pot-luck lunch, part of the day-long activities May 26 along with farm tours and butchering demonstrations. By evening, local chefs shoulder the cooking responsibilities. This year’s dinner menu will include pork and lamb prepared Argentine style over open flames, along with wines from local wineries. The lambs are Dorper, a breed developed in South Africa in the 1930s, and the pigs are heritage Berkshire, a breed prized for its flavor and sustainability.
“It’s a low-key, really fun day,” Rita said. “We always have a melody of personalities. Last year we even had some students from the culinary school string up hammocks and spend the night outside.”
For less hearty campers, accommodations are available nearby. Message pork@newmanfarm.com or call (417) 938-4391 for information on tickets and motels. Tickets to the event are $50 and should be purchased by Friday.
(Newman Farm Pork, Fork, Cork and Lamb, May 26, 10 a.m., Myrtle, Missouri)
